


Wild Geese

by SaraiVe



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, Descriptions of character deaths, F/M, descriptions of violence, non-ZA
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-09
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2018-03-29 19:58:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 39,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3908668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraiVe/pseuds/SaraiVe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beth Greene is Daryl Dixon’s mail order bride in 1865 Montana</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SuperNintendoChalmers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SuperNintendoChalmers/gifts).



> I'm blaming this all on SuperNintendoChalmers, to whom I described this idea one night and who really, really liked it and has basically forced me to write this and put it up and has patiently listened to me through this first chapter.
> 
> All the rest off you can just blame me if you don't like it...I had to get the idea out of my head once it implanted!

As she dutifully repeated “…to have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love, cherish, and to obey, till death us do part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I give thee my troth” after the preacher she couldn’t stop her thoughts from rambling. _I just promised to obey someone I don’t even know. How seriously am_ I _going to take that?_ _How seriously is he going to take that? He looks serious._ Her eyes met his as he placed the ring on her finger and she sucked in a breath. _Oh, my, he’s got the prettiest eyes._ He’d slipped her his ring right before the ceremony and she jerked her attention back to listen to the preacher, say the rest of her lines and slip the ring on his hand in turn. _His hands are so big_ she thinks with a little shiver and without realizing exactly what she was doing, she gripped his hand in her nervousness, twining her fingers with his and leaning into him as they faced the preacher together.

 

There was a slight buzzing in her ears that prevented her from hearing the preacher’s last few words, but the next thing she knew her face was being tilted gently up as this tall stranger – her _husband_ – and he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. His lips were warm and comforting and she suddenly realized as he was pulling away that she’d followed him up onto her toes to maintain the contact. Instead of continuing to pull away, he leaned back in to her for a moment, so that she was standing flat-footed next to him when he pulled away again, giving her a small, shy smile as she noted the flush on his cheeks.

 

Before she could do more than smile at him in return, she was grabbed and pulled into a warm hug by Dale, the man Daryl had said was like a father to him, who followed the hug with a hearty kiss on her cheek before passing her to his wife, Irma, who is a little shorter than Beth. The smaller woman still managed to make the young blonde feel completely enveloped in a warm hug and Beth managed a sweet smile in response to her congratulations. When Irma turned away from her to hug Daryl, Beth had a moment of feeling lost and her exhaustion from not only that day, but the last few months rolled over her and she swayed on her feet. Suddenly she felt a strong hand on her elbow and looked up into those amazing blue eyes again. She smiled a slightly lopsided smile, feeling ready to just go to bed and sleep for about a year…maybe two…it had really been some time since she had any decent rest. She blinked up into those eyes, fringed with dark lashes and suddenly felt less tired.

 

“You alright?” Daryl asked in the slightly raspy voice she had liked immediately.

 

Beth nodded in response “Just a little tired is all, it’s been a long day.”

 

“We’re going to Dale and Irma’s after this for dinner, then we can go home” he replied, giving her a small, encouraging squeeze.

 

She gave him a sweet, shy smile in return, leaned her head against his shoulder for a moment and sighed a little because of how wonderful it sounds. _Home…she has a home again._ It had been a while since she had one and now she had a handsome husband to go with it, though that thought brought the realization that she was still leaning against him and had been for longer than was really appropriate in public even for husband and wife. With an effort she gathered her wits and straightened, turning back to the others to find that Dale and Irma had invited the preacher over for dinner as well and was relieved when he refused with what seemed to be sincere regret, saying several of his flock were sick and he needed to visit as many as he could that day. Reverend Brown shook hands with the Hovarths and Daryl and gave Beth a slight bow before he left the couples and they head for the general store, which the Hovarths own and live above.

 

The street was bustling and Beth slipped her hand into Daryl’s elbow just as Irma does the same with Dale, not so much for support, but a kind of show of unity as well as protection for the women. Beth was so busy looking around that she missed how startled Daryl looked for a second before his face went to pleased and then his normal, watchful look as they stepped away from the church, which was at the far northern end of the town. Though Daryl was quiet, both Dale and Irma seemed determined to make sure Beth knew the layout of the town before they ever reached their store and tried to pay attention, ask intelligent questions and generally be polite and engaging; after all these folks are part of her family now.

 

Dinner was delicious, especially after the food Beth had on the road; Dale and Irma were delightful and Daryl so sweet with them that he became more attractive to Beth with every kind, funny word out of his mouth, though she completely missed the look he gave her when she refilled his water glass after he emptied it. After they’d eaten, Irma lifted the top off a cake plate, revealing a spice cake with a fluffy white frosting - their wedding cake - and not only was it beautiful, but turned out to be one of the best cakes Beth’s ever had. She was so tired and busy trying to absorb everything and remember her manners that she didn’t follow up on it when Irma says something to her about being glad Daryl had listened to them about getting a bride, though her exhausted brain tucks the information away. After Daryl polished off his slice and a second one, it was time to leave and Beth was surprised when Daryl handed her up into a light buggy, to which her bags have been strapped, instead of the typical wagon before they wave good-bye to the older couple.

 

On the drive out to their home, Beth found out it wasn’t a farm, but a ranch with several thousand head of cattle and four hands that Daryl managed for Dale while the older couple lived in town, which was far easier for them and that it would take them some time to get back to the house, which Daryl says is large, but is also currently only one level. He stiffens up when she asks if Dale and Irma are his only family, but he does answer her “My folks died a long time ago, my ma when I was about twelve and my pa when I was about sixteen then my brother, Merle died a few months ago.”

 

“You miss him, don’t you?” She caught his glance at her from under his bangs and saw he looked slightly guilty, though she didn’t know why. She continued easily, “I miss my big brother, Shawn…he was so annoying and overprotective, but I wish he were here now. He was injured in the battles at Kennesaw Mountain and his wounds festered….he didn’t know who we were at the end.” Her voice caught a little at the memories, before she continued, “I miss my big sister, Maggie and my pa….”

 

“What happened to him?” Daryl asked quietly, glancing at her, but then looking back toward the ears of the horses. Even though he still seemed rather shy, she noted his shoulders had dropped and he didn’t seem defensive anymore, which made her feel relieved.

 

“Soldiers came to our farm one day, they took everything they could…all the chickens they could catch and a couple cows that didn’t run soon enough and the horses they could catch before the cows took part of the fence down and they and the remaining livestock left…except the pigs, which were all penned. Papa, he didn’t try to fight with them until a couple started to look at Maggie and me like we were part of the livestock…just something else to take. Then Papa stopped them and one of them shot him in the leg…shattered the bones in his shin. Another family was there that day...they’d brought their son to Papa for healing after he’d been shot accidentally, and something about the man stopped the soldiers somehow; he told them to take the livestock and go, but they weren’t touching us…or his wife, who was also there.” She blinked back tears and went on, “After the soldiers left, he chopped off Papa’s leg, below the knee, but Papa lost too much blood, though we stopped it as quickly as we could and passed the next day without regaining consciousness.” She glanced at him and met his eyes, giving a small, embarrassed grin, “He was older when they had me…my mama was his second wife…but I always thought he’d grow even older and Maggie and I would marry and he’d get to sit on the porch with his grandchildren crawling all over him, telling them stories of when he was little…it seems so silly now.”

 

“What about your ma?”

 

“Mama…I can’t remember a time she wasn’t busy…she was always doing things around the house, around the farm, for us and others and was always full of energy, but one day she was tired and the next more so and one day she barely had the energy to get out of bed anymore. Papa, he was a doctor, the only one in our whole area…he worked on people and animals...anything he could help, really, and he said it was a disease of the blood and it happens sometimes, but there’s no treatment. It went on maybe three weeks and one morning I went in to check on her and she had passed quietly. We didn’t know it would be so fast and I hadn’t said my good-byes to her.”

 

“Never got to say good-bye to mine either,” he said in his quiet voice. “We went to town one day and got back to find the house burned down with her in it…never did know exactly what happened.” There was a pause before he asked, “What about your sister…she make it?”

 

Beth’s smile brightened instantly, “Oh, yes…she met a nice man and a traveling preacher married them, but they were moving up north to Michigan. She didn’t want to leave me, but when I decided to come here to you they decided to go.” She hesitated to say anything else just then, worried that he might show some of the prejudice with which Maggie and Glenn had been met back home. _Such stupid people to hate someone just because they were born looking differently than they did…she and Maggie were very different, in spite of having the same father and they’d grown up in a town around blacks and the Cherokee…what was different about a Korean, who didn’t even sound much different from other Yankees who’d come to town?_ Glenn looked a little like some of the young Cherokee men they knew and that was why Maggie had spoken to him the first time she’d met up with him on the road that ran past their farm as she was walking back from town.

 

“They didn’t keep the farm?”

 

“No, her husband’s not a farmer. We sold it to Mr. Walsh…the man who was at the farm when Daddy was shot; they stayed on after Daddy passed and he just knew how to handle things. He’d been a deputy in our town before the war ended and the Yankees took over so much. They left him alone, though…he’s a good man, but he has a violence about him. Besides, some of his friends came to live on the farm too, so it was well-defended.”

 

“You didn’t want to stay?”

 

“Well…I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but it wasn’t really my home anymore, not without any of my family there and strangers everywhere. Besides, when I read your letter I really liked it and I thought we could be happy.”

 

She’d seen an advertisement in one of the last papers their small town’s press had put out, only days after her father’s death. Mr. Walsh had gone to town for news and had brought back the paper as well as some of the gossip around town and her eyes had followed a beam of sunlight down to the paper and the small advertisement from a man in Montana seeking a wife. She’d spent some of their precious pennies to send a telegraph back to him letting him know of her interest and a few weeks later had received a letter which was so sweet and touching that she’d decided at once to respond and they’d exchanged letters for a few months before she’d received the letter in which he’d proposed.

 

Maggie and Glenn wanted her to come to Michigan with them, but they were going to have a hard enough time in their marriage, facing the prejudices they did, without having someone else to care for tagging along. Glenn’s family in Michigan was extensive and knew about Maggie and had said they looked forward to meeting her, but hadn’t sounded too enthusiastic about the new bride’s young sister and Beth didn’t have any desire to go where she wasn’t wanted. Granted, she wouldn’t have known she wasn’t wanted if she hadn’t overheard Glenn telling Maggie and them fighting about it. She hadn’t meant to overhear, but they’d come out to the barn to talk about it and she’d been sitting in the stall that used to hold her horse, Nellie, before the soldiers had taken her, having a little cry about everything that had happened and had overheard the two of them. Marrying Daryl may have seemed desperate to some, but she wouldn’t have done it if it hadn’t been for the fact that she’d found something sweet and charming about the way he’d sounded in his letters…she’d already decided to accept his proposal by the time she finished reading that final letter and she’d used a few more pennies to respond by telegraph and he’d wired back the money for her tickets a few days later. The next week had been spent making arrangements and doing everything she could with Maggie, who hadn’t wanted her to go at all, but who’d reluctantly agreed after reading his letters and talking with Beth for hours.

 

Daryl cleared his throat and she looked at him to discover that his cheeks and the tips of his ears are flushed pink. “What is it?” she asked curiously.

 

He looked at her from under a dark fringe of hair, at once shy and honest, “Dale helped me with the letters,” he confessed. “I’m not that good with words.”

 

That gave Beth a second of pause…the first she’d really had since reading them; from the very first letter something about them had spoken to her very soul and she’d felt instantly connected to the writer. What if she’d felt connected to Dale and not Daryl? As unlikely as it seemed, her daddy’s marriages had proven to everyone that love was not limited by the age of the body, but was something about the very souls of the people involved. “Was it you?” she asked. At his look of confusion she clarified, “What was said in them…was it what you wanted to say?” At his jerky nod, she gave a small sigh of relief, “Well, I only sent telegrams and letters so you really don’t know everything about me either; is there anything else you’ve thought of that you want to know?”

 

“Know a little already and reckon I’ll find out what I need to know as we go.”

 

“Oh…” was all she could think to say and he didn’t contribute anything further to the conversation. _Well, what now? I want to know everything about him, but he stiffens up when I ask about his family and I don’t want to put him off_. “Uh, what about Dale and Irma…they seem like wonderful people; how did you meet them?”

 

“Had been wandering around with Merle since our pa died and he got in trouble with some men about one town over and ended up in jail for a while. Nobody there would hire me because of Merle and the men he’d been hanging with, so I came here and went into the store for some supplies and to see if I could pick up on anything. Couple men were in there giving Dale a hard time and scaring Irma and I made them leave. Not much to tell after that…they had me help around the store that day, asked me to stay to supper, then said they had the ranch and told me to go talk to the guy who was running it at the time, fellow named Sam, and when he got killed a while after that, they had me take over running the place. Even after Merle got out, was an easy decision to stay.” He was silent for a moment, staring at the ears of the horses as they flicked back and forth. “Yeah, I miss him…Merle. He could never shut up or back down and that caused us no end of trouble, but he was my big brother and I miss him every day.”

 

Things between them were easier after that and Daryl told a couple stories about his brother that made Beth blush and laugh, the happy sound ringing out around them when she was truly amused and she caught Daryl looking at her several times with an expression that made her head feel a little light and her body flush with warmth. When he went silent again, it didn’t bother her like it had done when he’d seemed so tense. The sun was warm and the sway of the buggy comforting and before she knew what was happening, she was stirring out of sleep as he lifted her out of the buggy and muttered something soothingly to her as he carried her up a couple steps and inside and even the addition of other voices didn't mean she had to do anything other than snuggle a little closer to her warm husband and follow his murmured instruction to just go back to sleep.

 

o))O((o


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beth's first day as Mrs. Dixon
> 
> Just remembered to update the tags...please note the rating change!
> 
> I'm just gonna go hide over there...

When she awoke the next morning she could tell without even opening her eyes that it wasn’t light outside yet…the smells of the farmhouse and coffee making snuck into her senses and she had a happy moment where all that had happened over the last few months disappeared and she was home, her Mama in the kitchen getting ready for the day. As she tried to stir, though, she realized she was being held down by a weight that curled around her waist and chest and another over her hip and leg and that she was pressed into something very warm and her life snapped back into place in her head. Daryl was behind her, snuggled to her, pulling her close as she stirred and drawing her to him even more tightly. She didn’t remember him coming to bed or anything after him carrying her in, really, but now here they were all snuggled up and his warm breath and a tickle of beard are on her neck, which make her shiver a bit. In response to her shiver, Daryl made a noise she could only describe as a growl, which does things low in her belly that no other man has made her feel before he draws her even closer. Beth shifted a bit, adjusting her hips the little she could for more comfort and felt herself flush at the feeling of something poking into her backside.

 

She’d been courted by various young men back home and had only let two of them either hold her hand or kiss her, but now she was married and even Mama had told her that anything both parties wanted to do once married was okay and Beth readily admitted to herself she’d wanted to do all sorts of things with Daryl from the moment he’d introduced himself and had given her a small, shy grin. After Maggie had gotten married, she’d told Beth far more than the younger woman had really wanted to know at the time (especially things about her brother-in-law), but now she’s grateful for the advice and looking forward to trying some of it out on Daryl. In spite of those thoughts, she found herself drifting back toward sleep again when she felt Daryl wake up, both in a sharp intake of breath and his stiffening against her, but to her surprise and disappointment he pulled away from her, rolling onto his back and she couldn’t stop the little mewl of disappointment or the way her body moved back toward his. It was cool at night where they are and even with the quilts on the bed she felt cold without him and before she thought about what she was doing, she rolled over and back into his side, settling her head on his shoulder and snuggling back into him with a contented noise.

 

A short, surprised laugh huffed out of him at her movement and the arm belonging to the shoulder her head’s on snaked down and gave her a squeeze before his rough voice rumbled in her ear, “Come on, girl…I gotta get up and get going.”

 

Beth made a noise of disagreement, tightened her arm around his waist and spontaneously rolled her head a little to plant a kiss on his chest before nuzzling back into his shoulder, which brought another puff of air from his nostrils onto her face and yet another squeeze. With an effort she screwed her eyes open to the dark room, only a little ambient light filtered in through the windows where the curtains aren’t fully drawn. “Morning,” she mumbled, before a yawn seemed to take over her entire body and she went into a slow stretch that seemed to run from her head all the way down to her toes in a long shudder and took a long moment to leave so that she could just nuzzle back into his shoulder and get as close as possible again.

 

Although he didn't quite huff again, she could almost feel his amusement through his skin, “I gotta get up.”

 

“Ten minutes?” Beth asked hopefully.

 

“Can’t have the hands getting up before me” he rumbled.

 

“Five?”

 

“Beth….”

 

With a little grumble of her own, she shifted away and was pleased when he made a little sound of disappointment of his own, but he pulled himself up to sit on the edge of the bed for a moment. When she moved to sit next to him he said “You don’t have to get up just because I am.”

 

She leaned into him for a moment, dropping her face onto his shoulder in a sudden fit of shyness, “Only wanted to stay because you were here” she says softly.

 

Gentle fingers caught at her jaw and pulled her face up until her lips came in contact with his, which were slightly dry and warm against hers. The first gentle kiss was followed up with several more until she felt herself pulled onto his lap and he ran his hands up underneath her nightgown. She parted her lips by instinct just as he did and their tongues met softly and Daryl’s quiet moan was met by Beth’s as they really tasted each other for the first time, morning breath and all. One of his hands ran down her back, over her hip and onto her backside while the other kept holding her tight and she instinctively pushed as close into him as she could possibly get.

 

He broke away with a gasp and leaned his forehead against hers, “Can’t do this now; those hands don’t see me up and about they think they can sit about half the day.”

 

She nodded in response and went in for one more kiss before drawing away. As little as she wanted to draw back from him, she also didn’t want to start their marriage annoying him or causing him problems with his work. When she stood, she really noticed for the first time that she was in her long, white nightgown with the crocheted lace edging her mama had taught her so long ago that looked like small sea shells. Her hands brushed over it as she looked up to meet Daryl’s eyes in the dim.

 

He gave a little, embarrassed cough “Figured you’d be more comfortable in your nightgown than all that other stuff.”

 

“That was really thoughtful of you, Daryl…thank you. Did you sleep well?”

 

“Real fine” he acknowledged with a nod of the head; he’d lit one of the oil lamps in the room and saw her looking around, “Hung up your dress in the closet there,” he said, pointing to a door she’d noticed and she went and peered in, shocked at the amount of room...it had to be over twelve feet long and almost six wide and there was hardly anything in it.

 

“I’ve never seen anything like this” she exclaimed popping back out. “Are you sure it’s a closet? It could be a nursery!”

 

“Irma wanted big closets for storage...she hates wardrobes. Dale said they used to have one in their bedroom back East and she broke some toes on it a couple times…made him promise not to have them anymore.”

 

Beth giggled, “We had small closets back home, definitely nothing like these.” She’d slipped out of her nightgown and into her underthings, but couldn’t manage the corset on her own, since it tied in the back.

 

“You hardly have any clothes…you got a trunk coming or something?”

 

“No,” she said self-consciously as she stepped out of the closet, “There didn’t seem to be any point keeping some of my party dresses after the war started and we sold a number of them and a few things got ruined along the way and our local store was burned out and abandoned over a year ago, so replacing anything was difficult.” Turning her back to him she glanced over her shoulder and said, “Would…would you help me tie this?”

 

“Uhhh…yeah,” he says, his voice rougher than normal as he moved behind her and carefully pulled the strings tighter. “Dale made me promise to come to town once a week when I took on this job and I usually go in on Fridays…wasn’t going to go again this week since we were just there yesterday, but if you want we can go again soon and you can get some material and other stuff you want.” He made another of those deep noises she was still figuring out, “Girl, you don’t need this thing.”

 

“Daryl, yes I do; if there are other people around I can’t walk around without a corset!” As he continued to tighten it while she clung to the doorknob she asked, “I heard some people talking when you were carrying me in last night…I thought I heard a woman…did I?”

 

“That’s Carol…she’s the housekeeper here, mostly. She can help as another hand when she wants, but it’s good to have someone to watch the house and gardens.” He’d finished with the ties and Beth turned to find him still very close and staring down at her, “Didn’t realize how tiny you were yesterday” he said.

 

“Maggie said the heels help me look older,” Beth replied, a little breathlessly, looked up into those eyes again and wondered just how much time Daryl had left before he absolutely had to get out of the bedroom.

 

The quiet bang of a door sounded somewhere in the house and voices drifted toward them, presumably from the kitchen and Daryl let out a soft “God dammit” under his breath before bending in for a last, quick kiss. “Come to the kitchen when you’re ready.” He added before heading out.

 

She hurried into her clothes, found the washbasin on a stand in a corner and washed her face, neck and hands before brushing out her hair, braiding it and pinning it up. Even working quickly, it took longer than she would have liked before she hurried to follow the scents of coffee and breakfast to the kitchen.

 

When she entered, six sets of eyes turned to her and she had to fight the urge to turn right back around and leave again. Standing quickly from his seat, Daryl introduced the others; Carol, the housekeeper; Abe, a huge red-haired man who was Daryl’s second-in-command; Axel, a blond-haired man who made the skin tighten on the back of Beth’s neck; Oscar, a black man who made Abe look small, but who shook Beth’s hand so gently she instantly felt comfortable with him; and a man named Eugene who had both a truly odd haircut and an unusual way of speaking, but the thing about him that made Beth the most uncomfortable was the way he eyed her openly as though he was picturing her without clothes. From the stiffening of his posture, Beth could tell Daryl saw it too and he loomed protectively over her until Carol stepped forward, between Beth and Eugene, breaking the man’s eye-contact and offered Beth a cup of coffee, which the younger woman happily accepted.

 

By the time Beth had a hot cup of strong coffee in her hands, Daryl was seated again, so Beth took the seat next to him, which was free as Carol set a plate containing bacon, eggs and a biscuit in front of her before resuming her own seat on Daryl’s other side. Beth ate her breakfast, listening silently as Daryl spoke with the men and gave them assignments. Abe and Eugene were going to go to a different section of the ranch to move some cows from one section to another and would be gone for several days, while Axel, Oscar and Daryl were going to head to another section to gather and work some calves and would be back that night. They finished eating, grabbed the bags Carol had waiting for each of them from the kitchen counter and dispersed while the sunrise was still barely coloring the sky, Daryl stealing a quick kiss from Beth after the others were out the door and Carol had her back toward them as she poured warm water into basins in the sink and Beth watched him go reluctantly.

 

“If you grab a towel you can dry the dishes while I wash and we can watch the men get ready to go…this window over the sink overlooks the corral and horse barn,” Carol said with a laugh in her voice and Beth complied immediately, grabbing up an apron hanging near the stove to keep her dress clean.

 

Carol caught Beth looking at her short, gray hair and said, “You can ask if you want, you know.”

 

Beth flushed then laughed, “I was trying to be polite, but I guess that failed. Were you sick?”

 

“I had a fever a couple years ago and they cut my hair off to keep my head cooler and try to bring down my temperature; it was comfortable for me and I just kept it.” She ran her eyes over Beth, assessing the young blonde, “Daryl said you never got to do more than change between getting off the stage and getting married and then you came straight here. Do you want to take a bath and wash your hair? The men will be away all day and it may be a good time for it.”

 

“That sounds wonderful, it really does, but what about other things to do around here? If we need to work in the garden or do any canning, then I’ll just get all dirty again doing that and I’d rather clean up after.”

 

“There are a lot of beans ready that need to be put up, for a fact, and it will be nice to have the help.” Carol seemed to make a decision and nodded to herself, “It’s always easiest in the kitchen, but if it gets too late, we’ll let you clean up back in the bedroom instead.”

 

They finished the dishes, mixed up some bread dough to rise while they worked, and the rest of the day was filled with picking beans, readying them and canning them as well as making a huge pan of beans and a small ham that Carol had brought out for supper. It was hard, hot work and Beth was grateful to be able to wash thoroughly at the end, including her hair, before changing into a clean outfit.

 

By the time Daryl, Oscar and Axel returned and cared for their livestock, both women were cleaned up, as was the kitchen, there were several dozen large cans of beans, the bread had been baked and supper smelled heavenly. The men talked about their day and discussed what to do the next before Oscar and Axel left for the bunkhouse and Daryl headed for his office to write out a report of the day in his diary.

 

Carol and Beth cleaned up the kitchen one last time before bidding one another a good night and Carol left the room while Beth made herself a cup of chamomile tea to help her relax and added a spoonful of honey before heading toward the office to check when Daryl would be coming to bed. She was crossing the large parlor between the kitchen and office, footsteps silent on the thick carpets that padded the floor, when she heard voices and realized Carol was in the office speaking with Daryl. Not wanting to interrupt, Beth paused and peeked through the partially-open door to see the gray-haired woman leaning back against the desk next to Daryl, who was looking up at her and giving an amused snort at something she’d said.

 

Just as she raised her hand to knock, she heard Carol say, “So, you seem pretty happy with your new little wife…still think all she’s going to be to you is just someone to help me keep the house in order?”

 

“Shut up” Daryl grunted.

 

“I’m sure if you don’t really want someone that young and pretty someone else would be happy to take her off your hands; you know, since all this is _such_ a burden on you.”

 

Daryl huffed, “Beth’s more than pretty.”

 

 _So are you_ , Beth thought with a flush of warmth, _In so many ways._

 

“Really? I couldn’t tell you thought so last night the way you had her tucked into your chest while she slept. Not very sturdy for all that cooking and cleaning you were going to have her do” Carol was teasing, Beth could hear it in the laughter running through her voice.

 

This time Daryl didn’t say anything, just made a slightly irritated noise; his face was flushed at that point and the tips of his ears were bright red.

 

“Oooh…are you angry? Are you still irritated that Dale wrangled you in to placing that ad for a wife from back East? Thought you were so clever putting it in a small-town Georgia newspaper where you were so sure you wouldn’t get much of a response or you’d get some big, strapping farm girl who you’d never have to worry about running off with your heart. Fate fooled you, Pookie…you got a doe instead of a Clydesdale and you _like_ her….”

 

“Gonna to have to haul you to church on Sunday so you can repent of all this,” Daryl muttered just loud enough for Beth to catch and she nearly giggled, catching herself just in time.

 

Carol laughed, though, before her tone turned softer and more serious, “She’s a good worker, though…all that picking and canning was tough and she didn’t complain a bit and she’s sweet as she can be. Daryl…” the older woman placed a hand on one of his shoulders and waited until he looked up from his logbook again, “…you deserve a good woman and you got one; don’t let the things that have happened in your past tell you that you don’t.”

 

Beth didn’t wait to hear anything more, she’d already listened far too long to what the participants clearly believed to be a private conversation. She tiptoed silently back to the hallway that lead back to their bedroom and slips inside, going first to light a bedside lamp, then taking off the shoes that had made her feet ache that day. She knew that the high-heeled, thin-soled boots didn’t mix with farm work; still, she hadn’t wanted to waste the money before to buy more practical shoes after the once-sturdy boots she’d once owned had simply fallen to bits one day right before she left, the sole of one breaking completely off and simply being left behind when she took her next step and when she’d balanced on the other foot trying to see just what had happened, the leather had ripped away from part of that sole as well and her pretty, “town shoes” were the only ones she’d had left. Maggie had tried to comfort her, saying that the heels helped her look more grown-up than people often thought she was, but whenever Beth had to be on her feet in them for too long, she wanted nothing more than the burn the pretty high heels. Besides, it wasn’t like they aged her face, which was what people looked at rather than her height, which couldn’t be called intimidating, even with the heels.

 

She managed to get out of the shirtwaist and skirt she’d changed into after her bath and hang them neatly in the closet before sitting cross-legged on the bed, taking her hair down and starting in on the hundred long strokes she’d been taught to do before bedtime. The sound of the bedroom door opening started her a little and she looked over her shoulder to see Daryl standing stock still in the doorway, a look on his face that made her feel hot all over. When he didn’t move for a moment, she smiled shyly and extended the hairbrush to him, raising an eyebrow in question and he hastily closed the door and stepped forward, perching on the edge of the bed behind her, taking the brush and starting to work it over her hair in long, slow strokes that make her want to shiver.

 

When he shifted to get closer behind her, the bed dipped and she found her backside slipping until it bumped into his leg and she was pretty sure her breathing stopped. She peeked at him over her shoulder again and the expression on his face made her give a little gasp, but at least her breathing was working, but she was afraid her heart would stop since it was currently working at a speed she was not sure was actually safe for a human, but reminded her of the time she held a small hummingbird as she untangled it from a fishing net her brother had hung over the porch railing to dry after a day of catching trout in their favorite lake a couple miles away from the farm and figured her heart was beating as fast as the little jewel-colored bird’s had been.

 

Thinking back on it later she still couldn’t remember exactly how it happened, but she ended up on Daryl’s lap, lips exploring his and their tongues dancing along each other as their hands tried to remove clothing and make as much contact with skin as possible. Beth was glad she knew how to sew on buttons so well because several flew off Daryl’s shirt in her enthusiasm and Daryl was cursing steadily under his breath when his tongue wasn’t being put to better use as he tried to loosen the corset strings without stopping the other things he was doing or looking, but tightened them accidentally, which caused the remaining air in Beth’s lungs to come out in a little squeak.

 

“Sorry, sorry, shit…excuse me…fuck these fucking, fucking…shit, sorry.... Son of a fucking whoremonger! Sorry….” Daryl finally spun her around so that he could attack the strings from a more reasonable angle and Beth burst into giggles at the refrain, which finally ended when the stays loosened enough that the corset fell past Beth’s hips to her feet where she could step out of them and kick them toward the wall where they would be out from underfoot.

 

She loosened the ribbons on her pantalets and let them fall as Daryl spun her back around and his breath hissed inward as he stared down at her a moment before kissing her again, his hands going to his own belt and pants while Beth worked on the tiny buttons on her chemise, which Daryl ripped off as soon as it was loose enough that he wouldn’t just take Beth along with it and then he just stood and looked for a moment while Beth turned pink at the attention.

 

“God, you’re beautiful,” he finally said with soft reverence, placing a tentative hand on each of her hips and gently drawing them upward, making her shiver with pleasure until he slid both hands over her breasts, which made her nipples stiffen at once and she gave a soft whimper and gasped, “You are too.”

 

“Nah,” he rumbled, looking down, “I’m not and…my back…my back’s messed up from my pap; he was a mean drunk.”

 

“Papa was a drunk for years, until Maggie’s mama stopped him, but he was usually friendly, not mean from what I heard. _His_ father was a mean drunk; Papa left home when he was fifteen and didn’t go back until his father was dead and in the ground.” She raised a gentle hand to Daryl’s face, “Papa was the greatest man I’ve ever known until I met you, but you’re just as good, Daryl...I can tell you are, no matter what happened in your past. You have to say who you are now, not who your father said you were or who you may once have been.”

 

Daryl expression was unreadable as he stared at her for a moment, then bent his head toward hers and caught her lips in a kiss that stole her breath away, especially when he pulled her body tightly to his. When he finally pulled back, they were both a bit breathless, “I don’t know about all that, but I know I’m one lucky son of a bitch…shit…sorry!”

 

Beth couldn’t help the genuinely affectionate laugh that came from her throat as she gently drew his head down as she went up on her toes to kiss him warmly, which quickly developed into something much more intense before Daryl lifted her up onto the bed and crawled up to join her. The kissing and exploring was unlike anything Beth had experienced before and she was moaning as Daryl kissed and licked his way down her stomach and ended up with his face between her legs where his explorations make her see stars before her eyes and have her gasping and moaning Daryl’s name. His tongue and lips worked at her until the feelings building up inside of her welled up and overflowed into an intense pulsing that left her feeling boneless and flushed, but she still wanted more and tugged urgently at Daryl until he slid up her body and kissed her deeply.

 

“You ever done this before?” Daryl rasped.

 

“No, never” Beth answered honestly.

 

“I’ll be as gentle as I can, but probably going to hurt anyway.”

 

“It’s okay, I want you…please, Daryl.”

 

He guided himself to her entrance and pushed in slowly, until he was fully seated and paused to give her time to adjust. “Fuck,” he grated out, “girl, I may not last long enough for it to hurt much.”

 

“It’s okay, Daryl…just…move,” in spite of the pain – and it really did hurt a little – Beth was frantic for some more friction and Daryl started moving in long, slow motions that made Beth frantic until she grabbed at his hips when he’d pulled back and brought him back in with some force; it hurt a bit, but was also what her body needed and her response motivated Daryl to start moving faster and harder as the pressure built up inside Beth again. It lasted longer than either of them expected it to and just before his release, Daryl swiped his thumb over Beth’s clit and brought her along with him.

 

As Daryl blew out the lamp and pulled the covers up over them, Beth snuggled close and asked with a yawn, “How early do you have to be up in the morning so we can do that again?”

 

All she felt was the chuckle that rumbled through him and the puff of air over her neck before she was sound asleep in his arms.

 

o))O((o


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An errand in town

Daryl’s body pulling away from hers awakened Beth the next morning and she reached for him again, but he was already sitting up and lighting the lamp on his side of the bed, so she sat up next to him and snuggled until his arm went around her and he pulled her close so that she could tilt up and kiss him, giving a little hum of satisfaction, “Mmm, good morning. Do you have to get up already?”

 

He gave her another warm kiss, “Yup, we brought in some cows with young calves yesterday, so we need to work them this morning and let them back out so we can go get another bunch into the corral. Hopefully we’ll get two or three bunches done today.”

 

“May I help?”

 

“No!” He seemed to realize just how harshly it came out and added more gently, “You could get hurt.”

 

“Daryl, I helped with the animals back on the farm and I may have gotten bruised a few times, but I was fine.”

 

“Not today, Beth, those shoes of yours…” as he was talking, he ran a hand down one of her legs to her foot, but when he looked down his breath hissed in and he gently pulled her foot around so he could look at it more closely. “What the hell, Beth?!” he exclaimed looking at the blisters, both broken and still swelling as well as the bruises around her feet and ankles. “Why the fuck are you wearing....” His voice trailed off as he seemed to catalog the contents of the closet, “You don’t have any other shoes.” The last came out as a statement and Beth flushed, looking down.

 

“My other shoes fell apart right before I left and it wasn’t too bad on the road a lot of the time…you know, I took the train part of the way and then the stage and we just didn’t have to walk a lot….”

 

“Hey…” he touched her chin gently and she raised her eyes to his, “you don’t have to be embarrassed; told you yesterday I’ll get you what you need, you just have to tell me.”

 

“I just don’t want you to think I married you for money or out of desperation; we weren’t rich by the end of the war, but we had enough I didn’t _have to_ come.” She put a soft hand on his chest where she could feel his warmth and the beat of his heart and said with complete sincerity, “Don’t think you have to buy me things to keep me happy.”

 

He frowned a little at her statement, “If you get an infection in your feet because you aren’t taking care of them, it’s not going to make me happy. Trust goes both ways, Beth.”

 

“I didn’t think of it that way,” she admitted, “I do trust you, Daryl, and I’m sorry if it seemed like I don’t.”

 

“We’ll go to town tomorrow; make a list of what you need and we’ll get it, at least if Dale has it in stock.”

 

“I know some things I need, but I’ll check and see if Carol has any suggestions.”

 

“It’s a good idea to talk to her about it. She’ll come with us tomorrow when we go, both to help make sure we get what we need, but also to see her friends and maybe we can meet up with my friend, Rick, and his family.” He stole one more kiss before patting her backside, “Get up if you’re getting up now and I’ll help you with your stays if you insist on wearing that corset again, but leave those shoes off today.”

 

Beth hurried off the bed saying, “I’ll leave them off this morning anyway and see what Carol has planned.”

 

“She’s going to be helping us with the calves, so she may need you to start supper or something,” Daryl advised, behind her now and tugging reluctantly on the stays of the corset.

 

“If Carol can help with the calves, then why can’t I?” Beth asked breathlessly as a good bit of air was getting squeezed from her lungs.

 

“Carol’s done it for a while, she’s tough and I don’t have to worry about her.” Daryl couldn’t have known how his words would sting Beth, but when he felt her shoulders hunch, he finished tying the sturdy ribbon and turned her around to look into her wounded eyes and sigh, “How about this? We’ll get you some good boots and Carol can help you with an outfit and then we can see how you do with the next bunch, but not today. You can’t be in there with bare feet and you can’t run all day in those heels or you’ll be lame.”

 

“I do need to wash clothes,” Beth agreed. “Well, and sew some buttons on your shirt from yesterday…you may have lost a few somehow.” She couldn’t keep the grin off her face and Daryl swung her up into his arms for another kiss and her legs settled around his waist by instinct.

 

“Damn hands…” Daryl muttered after a long moment of kissing. “I gotta go…come out when you’re ready.” Beth nods and slid down without thinking about it until Daryl groaned, “I’ll get you back for that later.”

 

Beth couldn’t stop the giggle that came out as he headed for the door and “I look forward to it,” popped out of her mouth with a slightly husky tone that almost turned him back around and she heard his growl of frustration as he finally made it out the door, the smell of coffee floating in on the draft behind him.

 

The promise of coffee and breakfast made Beth hurry into the skirt and top she’d worn the day before, but she only pulled on her slippers instead of stockings and boots before heading for the kitchen.

 

o))O((o

 

 

A full morning of washing and hanging clothes (and getting the bloodstains out of their sheets and hanging _those_ ), then putting new linens on the bed as well as making a big pot of stew and some light sourdough biscuits for their dinner almost wore Beth out, but after dinner, she found a large bag of dried apples and a smaller one of raisins and set some of the apples in warm water to plump and some of the raisins in some warmed port to plump them and give them extra flavor. The pies she made from the apples and raisins smelled delicious and the crust at least looked light and flaky when Beth set them on the counter near an open window to cool. There was already beef cut for their supper, so Beth picked enough green beans and new potatoes that they could have the vegetables as sides with the beef.

 

Once the clothing was dry, Beth spent a few minutes sewing the buttons that had flown off back onto Daryl’s shirt while the iron heated, then set up the ironing board in the kitchen and used a clean sponge and water to carefully dampen the clothes before ironing them. She finished before the cows had all been worked and hauled a bucket of cold water out to replace the warm one from which they’d been drinking and settles on the corral poles to watch for a while, wishing she could get in and help a little, especially with the darling calves. Even though she does hate to watch them getting branded it has to be done, so she watched quietly until it was time for her to go back inside and cook the steaks and vegetables for their supper.

 

She timed it almost right and the men and Carol have time to wash up before they settle down at the table to eat. Beth asked a few questions to get them talking before she sat back listening and looking at them. Axel in particular was anxious to talk and gave her almost too much information, while the other men tried to quell the flow of words after a few minutes. The blond older man seemed to particularly like Carol and stopped talking to focus on listening to the gray-haired woman as she told Beth the highlights of what went on outside that day. When she was done, Daryl gave Oscar and Axel their assignments for the next day when he would be in town with Beth and Carol and Oscar calmly assured him that things would be taken care of in their absence.

 

After the dishes are cleaned, Beth and Carol worked further on the lists each has for the next day until they were satisfied, before bidding each other a good night and Beth skipped making tea to go look for Daryl in his study.

 

Peering around the doorframe, the young blonde smiled at her husband and said quietly, “Hey.”

 

Daryl looked up with a little grin, “Hey.”

 

Beth could feel her face turning pink, “I just wanted to see when you were coming to bed.”

 

With a frustrated noise, Daryl rubbed a hand back through his hair, “I have to finish this entry before bed…we’ll need an early start tomorrow and I don’t want to risk forgetting before I can do it. Besides, I’ll take the log with me tomorrow for Dale to check over.”

 

Before Beth could ask if he would mind some company, Carol cleared her throat behind Beth and said, “Do you need any help with the numbers for the day or anything?”

 

Casting an apologetic look at Beth, Daryl replied, “I was trying to remember just how many calves we worked today…four hundred and…?”

 

Without waiting to hear more, Beth cast them a small smile and slipped out of the doorway and back toward their bedroom, knowing Daryl would come when he could. He’d already demonstrated how seriously he took his job and she didn’t want to interfere, but she admitted to herself she would have dropped whatever she was doing to be with him in the bedroom and kind of wished he felt the same. Still, he seemed to feel that he owed Dale a lot and Beth had liked the older couple very much, so she was all for her husband doing a good job for them.

That night she brushed out her hair alone, got ready for bed and took off her skirt, top and pantalets, but couldn’t get out of the corset by herself, so she stayed in that and the chemise and crawled between the sheets. Leaving the light on didn’t stop exhaustion from taking over and she fell asleep, only awakening when Daryl’s weight settled on the bed next to her and he scooped her close to his side.

 

Beth used a hand on his shoulder to gently pull herself up so that she could kiss him, which escalated rapidly after Daryl’s hands slid down and he discovered the pantalets were missing. With a growl, he tossed her onto her back and almost before she could blink he had his head and hands down between her legs and one of her hands was holding onto the headboard while the other gripped his hair as she groaned and gasped his name. Not only was he working at her with his mouth, but inserted first one, then two fingers inside of her, curling and thrusting them until he could feel in her response that he was hitting just the right spot inside her. If she’d thought she’d seen stars the night before she saw the whole night sky that night and when she came she felt almost light-headed as she shifted her grip and tried to pull him up so she could kiss him again and get him inside her.

 

Daryl’s face skimmed over the corset, but when he reached her breasts, he unbuttoned the top couple buttons of the chemise underneath so that he could latch onto one nipple with his mouth while pinching and rolling the other one in his hand and Beth felt like she was reaching her peak again just from that stimulation, but she didn’t want to get there this time without Daryl. Moaning encouragement, she pulled him up until he slid into her readied body and she almost came again just at the feeling being so stretched and full that he gave her; then, it was his turn to groan when he was seated in her and she bucked up against him, falling into rhythm with his thrusts as he moved against her. The stimulation was too much for her when he moved a hand between them to rub her breast and pinch her nipple and she went over the edge again, feeling the pulses radiating throughout her body, which triggered Daryl’s release within her and made them both groan at the sensation.

 

She was a little confused at Daryl cursing and apologizing because she definitely felt good and satisfied and she really wanted to ask about it, but he was warm and comfortable and smelled really good to her and she couldn’t stay awake long enough to do more than mumble something comforting and press her face into his neck before she was asleep.

 

o))O((o

 

There wasn’t any time to talk the next morning and Carol was along on the ride into town, so the discussion was limited to things around the ranch and information about what had been happening in town and what they anticipated happening soon. The town’s first Fourth of July celebration happened not long before and had gone surprisingly well considering how high feelings were still running about the war and even celebrating the Fourth had been difficult for many, but apparently they had managed it with only a few shootings, two of which had been fatal. Really, Woodbury had more to it than Beth had ever hoped with not only a church, doctor, several lawyers, a school and the general store as well as a couple restaurants, hotels and several bars, the largest of which was The Capitol Bar.

 

The day was fine and even in the wagon the drive didn’t seem too bad and there was an extra board with metal brackets that attached to the bed of the wagon and made a seat for Carol so that she could sit and talk with the couple as they rode in. Beth did have a chance to find out more about Carol and how she and Daryl had met on the wagon train they’d been traveling in years before when Carol’s husband and daughter had been killed in separate attacks by some of the native tribes as they went through their regions. Neither Carol nor Daryl said much about Carol’s husband, but Beth was left with the impression that he hadn’t been a good man and was not missed, unlike her daughter, Sophia, who sounded like she had been a really sweet child. A picture in the locket around Carol’s neck showed a pretty little blonde girl, with the somber expression almost everyone wore in pictures, but a sparkle in her eyes that made Beth wish she could have met the child.

 

Carol had on a dress that day, unlike the trousers and shirt she’d worn to help with the cows, which hadn’t been at all feminine, but were very practical. She’d encouraged Beth to get some work clothes for herself if she really wanted to help with the cows, but Daryl had been firmly against the idea of Beth wearing pants and shirts around the men and letting them look at how they framed her body. Beth had privately been not only shocked at Carol wearing the men’s clothing, but also jealous of how easily the other woman had moved the day before, not weighed down with petticoats and skirts, so while part of her was relieved at Daryl’s response, another part wished he hadn’t felt quite so strongly and she grinned a little when Carol laid a hand on her arm to get her to turn around and winked at her with a little smile, letting Beth know the older woman would help her if Beth wanted to get her own trousers.

 

Beth was also a bit jealous of Carol’s sunbonnet because there was no cover on the wagon and the small traveling hat perched on Beth’s curls wasn’t helping protect her creamy skin at all. Carol had handed her a parasol before they left and Beth was grateful, but hated having to hold it and make sure not to poke anyone and also didn’t like not being able to simply snuggle into Daryl’s side before they got to town, (though Carol’s presence would have prevented that anyway), so she sat upright and kept talking and engaging them both while trying to keep her head shaded.

 

Town was busy again, but they found a place to hitch the wagon on one side of the store where it sat on a corner and Daryl helped both Beth and Carol down, then paused so that Beth could tuck her hand into his arm before they climbed the steps with Carol right behind them. Almost as soon as they got through the door, Daryl spied a slender man about his height, but with shorter, curly brown hair, blue eyes and a large revolver slung low on his hip and greeted him warmly before turning to introduce Beth to his friend Rick whose eyes were bright and curious as they looked her over. When she turned to smile over at Irma, Beth caught it out of the corner of her eye as Rick nudged Daryl with a quirked eyebrow and a nod in her direction that made Daryl’s cheeks flush slightly. When Beth looked back at them with a friendly smile, Rick invited them both to come to his place on Sunday so that Beth could meet his wife and children and Beth’s smile grew brighter as Daryl accepted for them after glancing down at her face. They’d barely made plans when Dale finished with his customers and came over to greet them and pulled Daryl away so they could look over the log book together.

 

A few customers were still being waited on and Irma was busy, so Beth chatted with Rick again for a few more moments before excusing herself to go look at the fabrics until someone could help her. There was also a small case with notions such as buttons as well as fabric flowers, feathers and pins for people to use decorating hats and Beth was bent over looking at those when a shadow fell across the glass case and she looked up to see a tall, Hispanic man staring at her.

 

“Well, well…the views in this town are certainly looking brighter than usual today,” he said with only a trace of accent as he leaned in closer to her.

 

“I’m married,” she said calmly, not snapping as she wanted to do, but also drawing back from the stranger.

 

“Just talking to a pretty lady,” he replied as he leaned in closer to her than she was comfortable with and she took a step away.

 

“Martinez!” the deep voice nearby made Beth jump a little and she looked up into the single blue eye of a tall, slender man with an eyepatch. “Stop bothering this lady and go get the supplies we came for…now, please.” After the first man moved off, the new one leaned in and added, “Although he is right about one thing…the view is very beautiful over here.”

 

“Thank you, but as I told your friend I am married and the only opinion I need is my husband’s,” Beth said, drawing herself up to her full – if rather unimpressive – height. She looked around and saw that Irma was now free and heading her way, “I see someone’s free to help me now, if you’ll excuse me.”

 

“Of course, ma’am,” he drawled. “Again, I apologize for my man’s behavior. If he ever bothers you again, just let me know…my name’s Philip Blake and I own The Capitol bar.”

 

o))O((o


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gets them back to the ranch and sets them up for things that happen in the future...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case I ever forget to mention it, I own nothing about The Walking Dead, any songs, poems, books, etc. that are mentioned and any resemblance to real people living or dead is strictly coincidence.

Beth nodded toward Mr. Blake and turned toward Irma with a glad smile, moving toward the older woman who had a warm smile on her face and took Beth’s hand as the young woman moved close enough since hugging in public was considered too much of a public display of affection, “Hello, dear,” the older woman greeted her, “What can I get you today?” She flicked her eyes over Beth’s shoulder, then leaned in slightly and lowered her voice, “Was he bothering you?”

 

“He was a little too familiar,” Beth murmured, “but that Martinez was worse.” In a normal voice she continued, “I need to get material for some dresses and a bonnet and some shoes.”

 

Irma pulled down a pretty light-blue fabric, then took another quick look around, making sure that another clerk had engaged Blake and Martinez before she and Beth leaned in over the counter to look at it, “Just be careful…The Governor seems kind and gentlemanly at first, but he can be cruel, so you be careful if he has his eyes on you.” She turned away and pulled down several more bolts of fabric in different colors and patterns. “You may like some of these better.”

 

Beth filed the information away, met Irma’s eyes and nodded quickly. “Oh, I like this,” she said in her normal voice, finding a darker blue material with a pattern in a lighter blue running through it. They continued discussing fashions, fabrics and notions until Beth ended up with everything she needed, including materials for some new undergarments and a few new things for Daryl, their progress almost constantly interrupted by various people coming up and introducing themselves to Beth, though none with the same nerve-wracking effect as Blake and Martinez. They’d just finished finding boots in the right sizes and adding them to the pile of items when Daryl and Dale emerged from the back room and Daryl came over to them.

 

“You find everything you need?” Daryl asked after greeting Irma. Even as Beth nodded and smiled he looked a little more closely, “Did anything happen?”

 

Irma broke in with, “Why don’t you all stay for lunch? The clerks can watch the store for a while so that we can eat and then will load up the wagon.”

 

Carol had been talking to others in the store after handing her list to the clerk who’d been helping her, but was close enough to hear Irma’s invitation. “If you’re going to stay for a while, I’m going to go have tea with Mrs. Matthison at The Holyoake,” she said, gesturing toward the woman with her, a slender, stern-faced woman whose sternness dissolved almost completely when Beth smiled at her and Carol introduced the women.

 

“I’d heard you were coming,” Mrs. Matthison said warmly, “You should come to church when you can and have a chance to meet everyone. We’re planning a picnic after church in a few weeks and anyone who can come will be there.”

 

After a few more minutes, Carol left with Louisa (Mrs. Matthison’s first name) and once Dale and Irma had left instructions with their clerks, they led Daryl and Beth up to their rooms once more. Irma had the table set already and Beth pulled a steaming chicken stew from the oven and set it carefully on the stove while Irma mixed drop-biscuits dropped them onto the stew, where they promptly steamed up before Beth placed the heavy pot back into the oven so the biscuits could brown. Joining Daryl on the small couch while Irma settled into a matching chair, they caught the men up on the attentions Blake and Martinez had paid Beth, which caused Daryl to stiffen and share a worried look with Dale.

 

“Irma called him ‘The Governor’” Beth contributed. “Is that what most people call him?”

 

“His men called him that when he came to town, then he opened The Capitol Bar and pretty soon everyone was using it,” Dale answered.

 

Daryl growled, “He’s been buying up businesses and land whenever he can; tried to buy the ranch before.”

 

“Your ranch?” Beth said in surprise, looking at Dale and Irma. “If he owns businesses and land in town, why would he want a ranch as well?”

 

“Some people can never get enough,” Daryl replied for the older couple. “They hate the idea that someone else could have something good or beautiful.” He looked into Beth’s eyes as he said it and her breath caught as she forgot momentarily that Dale and Irma are sitting right across from them.

 

Dale cleared his throat suddenly and Daryl and Beth both jumped in their seats as Irma hopped up to get the dish from the oven before calling them all to table.

 

As they ate and talked, Beth again kept an eye on Daryl’s water glass and got him another serving when he finished the first one and eyed the pot speculatively, obviously still hungry and smiled at him warmly when she caught him watching her again. Something in his eyes made her feel a little too warm and she had another moment when she really wished Carol weren’t along for the long ride back to the ranch.

 

When they are almost at the end of the meal, Dale said something about needing to go to his lawyer’s office with Daryl to sign some papers the next time they are town and Daryl flushed and looked down. Beth wondered briefly if it was for something bad because Daryl looked so uncomfortable, so she reached out to touch his hand. He looked up and smiled reassuringly, taking her hand and it took a moment for her to realize the older couple was beaming at them again and could feel herself turning pink before she looked down and offered to help Irma clean up after the meal.

 

The men headed downstairs while the women straightened things up in the Hovarths' quarters before joining them. Irma’s busy at once with more customers and Dale’s already waiting on another couple. Daryl and one of the assistants almost have the wagon loaded and Beth goes to the front window and sees Carol heading up the street toward the store. To get out of the way of the other customers, Beth stepped outside and gave Carol a small wave before turning and surveying the street from her new position toward the corner of the building. Daryl nodded at her and muttered, “Stay right outside the door if you’re going to stay outside; I just need to pick up one more thing Dale’s holding for me.”

 

Daryl was barely back in the store before two young men stopped to talk to Beth, but they were completely unlike Blake and Martinez, not much older than she was with open, friendly faces. They were telling her more about the town and the church picnic again and asked if she’d seen any of the Crow, the Indian tribe closest to Woodbury, when she felt a shadow fall next to her and turned to find Daryl beside her. She practically glowed as the introduced the boys to her husband and barely noticed when their faces fell seeing not only Daryl, but how she looked at him, though when she saw that he was scowling more than usual, her face must have reflected her anxiety because his expression softened a little as he looked down at her. They bid the men a good day and Beth once more tucked her hand into Daryl’s elbow, chatting with him about the church picnic and how nice almost everyone in town seemed as they headed around the corner to the wagon where Carol was already waiting and looking amused at something.

 

On their way out of town, Beth thought she saw a man watching their wagon specifically, who turned away when he caught Beth’s eye. _How odd_ , Beth thought, but was about to dismiss it when Carol murmured “Shumpert” behind them.

 

“I see him,” Daryl growled back, even though his eyes appeared to be forward and he still looked relaxed sitting next to Beth.

 

Beth leaned in closer, trying to look as casual as they do and asked, “Who is he?”

 

“One of The Governor’s men” Carol replied, leaning in a little and nodding at one of the restaurants as they went past as though they’re discussing the town, which would be normal, since Beth was so new.

 

At Beth’s frown, Daryl leaned into her gently, “Don’t worry about it; we’re not letting anything happen to you.”

 

“I’m not worried about me,” Beth replied, low-voiced “but I don’t want anything to happen to you either.” She peeked around at Carol and added “Any of you.”

 

“I know, honey; you’re a sweet young woman. Once we get out of town I’ll tell you both what I learned at tea.”

 

They chatted as they went until they had cleared the town before Carol told them about how The Governor had bought up another restaurant in town and was asking around about buying up a ranch or two. “Did Dale say anything to you about the ranch?” the older woman asked.

 

“Said Blake had been by to talk to him about selling it,” Daryl acknowledged. “We’re going to have to get the rest of the calves worked as soon as we can, make sure that nobody else brands them or takes them.” He looked at Beth worriedly, “Means we’ll have to be away from the ranch house for a few days…you and Carol will be alone.”

 

“We’re supposed to go see Rick and his wife at their place the day after tomorrow,” she reminded him.

 

“And if you think I’m not going along to cook when you’re gone for a few days, you’re crazy. You men will starve without me.” Carol chimed in.

 

“We can’t leave Beth alone,” Daryl responded sharply, stiffening next to her.

 

“Well, I’ll go along too,” Beth said, “I told you, I’ve been around animals my whole life.”

 

“Can’t leave the ranch house unattended,” Carol responded for Daryl. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law as they say and whoever has the house has ownership of the ranch…at least if they want to claim it as such.”

 

“You can’t go either then,” the foreman replieed gruffly, “we can cook well enough to survive a couple days and it’ll just cause trouble to have a woman along, you know how Axel and Eugene are.”

 

Carol huffed slightly, “I can handle the men.”

 

“I’d like it if you’d stay with me,” Beth said, trying to head off any further arguments. “It will be a lot of work to tend the house and garden and the garden’s producing so well right now, we could probably make some soup and get more canning done.”

 

The gray-haired woman looked at her and her face softened, “Fine, I won’t argue about it anymore, but I’d rather be working calves.”

 

Beth dimpled at her, “Me too.”

 

“You really would?” Daryl asked his wife, sounding slightly startled.

 

“I really don’t mind staying out as long as the weather’s not miserable and I truly like animals and I don’t mind working with them.”

 

“We’ll go sometime, if you want to see more of the ranch” Daryl promised, looking into Beth’s eyes so she could see he meant it. For just a moment Beth felt as though they were alone on the wagon and wanted to lean in just that little bit more and catch her husband’s lips with hers, but remembered herself and self-consciously turned forward a little, adjusting the parasol to shade herself more completely.

 

“I’d like that,” Beth said softly, a little catch in her voice that she couldn’t quite stop and she heard Daryl’s breath hitch momentarily in response.

 

Carol cleared her throat gently from her seat and they changed the subject to planning for the next few days. Abe and Eugene were due back the next night, so Daryl and Carol would take Axel and Oscar and work calves that should be in a valley a few hours’ ride from the ranch house and Beth would stay and take care of things around the house. The men and Carol would have Sunday to rest while Daryl and Beth went to see Rick and his family and then the men would head out on Monday.

 

Talk about the town, the people Beth had met and things that needed to be done at the ranch kept them busy for much of the rest of the ride back and then unloading, sorting through things and getting them stored correctly kept them busy for a while. Carol had put a large pan of beef and beans in the stove that morning and it was what Axel and Oscar had for dinner and would do for supper as well, especially with the addition of a skillet of cornbread. The men helped with the unloading, moving feed and some of their supplies around as necessary.

 

In the short while they have before supper, Beth finally got to take off the high-heeled boots she was still wearing along with the stockings and garter belt so she wouldn’t rip them. After that, Carol helped her spread out a roll of paper, draw and cut a pattern Beth would need for one of her new dresses, pinning the cut pieces so that they could make sure the dress would fit correctly, while Daryl took care of updating the log books with the information he’d gotten from Axel and Oscar and with their expenses for the ranch that day.

 

Almost as soon as the dishes were done and the hands had left for the bunkhouse, Beth bade Carol a good night and was gratified to hear Daryl’s hasty echo of her words, knowing he was following right behind her.

 

Almost as soon as the door was closed, Daryl spun Beth into his arms and his lips descend on hers in a bruising kiss and Beth was grabbing onto him frantically, trying to get in as close as possible. An entire day of being close to each other without being able to touch had been hard on both of them and all Beth really wanted was to have Daryl inside her right then. She moved her hands to his belt and pants, undoing them while Daryl rucked up her skirt and petticoats, growling a little as his fingers came in contact with the ribbons for the pantalets, finding them quickly and pulling them loose so that they dropped down and he almost ripped them off as he lifted her up onto the bed, his hard length already out of his loosened pants, which were hanging around his lean hips.

 

He leaned over her and kissed her deeply while moving his fingers to check that she was ready for him, grinding out, “Damn, girl, you’re soaked” before plunging into her, straight up to the hilt immediately. Beth moaned and wrapped her legs around his hips and groaned out, “Oh, Daryl…oh, that feels amazing! You feel so good inside me.”

 

Daryl’s groan matched her own as he pulled out almost all the way and slammed into her again. He was being almost brutal with her, but not really hurting her, even as he set a hard, fast pace. After a minute, he flipped her over so that she was facing away from him and entered her again from behind, sliding into her easily, but still setting a pace unlike anything they’d done before now, moving to lay his body over Beth’s as his hips pistoned and his hands found her breasts before he pinched her nipples through the fabrics still covering her body.   He stopped suddenly, buried all the way in her and both of them shuddering, close to release.

 

“Whose are you?” he rasped with another demanding thrust.

 

“Yours, Daryl…only yours,” she gasped, meaning every word.

 

“You remember that, you’re mine now, my wife, my woman, you belong to me.”

 

“I’m yours, Daryl, forever….”

 

With another groan, Daryl started moving again, hitting a spot inside Beth that made her give a small shriek in surprise before moaning again, as he continued his punishing pace. It only took moments for them to both get to the edge and Daryl moved his hand between Beth’s legs and stroked her clit firmly a couple times, which sent her shuddering over the edge as he found his own release, cursing his way through the sensations that took over his body before collapsing on top of her as they both caught their breath.

 

Beth finally found the strength to poke him with her elbow, “Would you get off me, please? It makes it a lot easier for me to breathe when you’re not on top of me.”

 

He muttered something that sounded vaguely like an apology before rolling over, off her and gathering her close.

 

“Oh, no you don’t,” Beth giggled, “I’ve still got to get out of these clothes and you’ll be more comfortable with your boots off…you aren’t getting under the covers with them on.”

 

Reluctantly and with more muttering and some general cursing that sounds more good-natured than anything, Daryl allowed Beth to untangle herself and start unbuttoning her dress, which Daryl seemed to find fascinating. “What?” she asked feeling suddenly shy under his gaze.

 

“Sorry,” Daryl responded immediately, “just haven’t gotten to see you do that yet.”

 

She suddenly felt a little shy, but overcame most of it by looking at his face and the way he was watching her, but she didn’t overcome all of it. “You could help me” she suggested cautiously, pleased when his face brightened a little and he sat up and beckoned her closer. The buttons were undone about halfway at that point and he seemed more intent on just holding her by the hips while she finished with them than he actually did helping, but for some reason being closer and him touching her made her less self-conscious. Once the buttons were undone and the dress could come off, Daryl helped ease her out of it and Beth hung it quickly before returning to where Daryl was still sitting on the bed, moving back between his legs and turning so that he could undo the corset she was still wearing, which turned out to be far more…exciting than she would have ever imagined. The last time they’d done this, it had seemed practical more than sensual, but now his movements were almost languid as he loosened them and eased the garment off over her hips as she unbuttoned the small white buttons on the chemise. She could feel his breath on her skin around and through the thin material and when he leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her skin his hot breath made her shiver and make a little noise deep in her throat that’s almost a whimper. As she turned, she let the chemise fall and moved her hands to his shirt buttons, undoing them, which became harder when he leaned forward and started placing kisses on her jaw; she almost forgot to keep unbuttoning when he slowly started working down her neck, but kept going after a moment because she wanted his shirt off – now.

 

Once all the buttons were undone and his outer shirt off she found he wasn’t wearing an undershirt and she was free to touch his firm chest and shoulders, which seemed fair since his mouth was currently moving over her own chest and his mouth closed over one of her nipples gently, making her give a soft cry before he changed and suckled at her until she was panting.

 

With a growl of frustration he stood suddenly and used the boot jack to get his boots off and shoved his pants and belt to the floor before stepping back to the bed and Beth, who’d eased up onto the bed, pushing the covers so that they can both slide under them. Right before getting in, Daryl blew out the lamp next to the bed before moving in next to Beth, pushing back the covers further so that he could still see all of her in the dim light that filtered in around the curtains. This time when they both set about exploring one another it was slow and thorough and the most sensual thing Beth had ever felt; exploring Daryl and being explored by him was almost an assault on her senses and there was nothing about him she doesn’t like. She’d liked his personality from the moment she read his first letter, felt comfortable when she met his eyes as he took her hand to help her down from the stage, rejoiced at how gentle and caring he’d been with her, but this night…this night is different. She’d understood his demanding need that night after what had happened in town that day and had needed him just as much…needed to know she was his in the same way he’d needed it; still, she was positive that nothing has come close to this intense exploration, leaving no part of the other’s body untouched and using hands, tongues, lips to get to know one another…it’s never even occurred to her that it could be like this. When he slid inside her again, with moans and kisses and curses and promises, she knew for a fact that nothing Maggie had ever described, no love story she’d ever read, no overheard gossip among the women back home had ever prepared her for what being with Daryl was really like for her. Their connection was more than sex, more than looks or merely liking; when they both came again, Beth was fairly sure she could actually hear her soul bind with Daryl’s, the knot she’d felt tug when she’d read his letter, looked in his eyes, and touched her before was now a binding that would hold her to him the rest of their lives on earth and possibly longer.

 

When they were lying quiet and sated, the words came softly out of her mouth unbidden, “Whither thou goest, I will go…” before she drifted off to sleep.

 

o))O((o


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Governor pays a visit to the ranch and Daryl and Beth go to visit Rick and his family.
> 
> FYI, this chapter is completely unedited, so please pardon all my mistakes!
> 
> Oh, and a big thank you to the people who have left kudos and comments!

The next day was bright and clear and Daryl took the hands to head to where they’d be working cows and Carol followed more slowly in the wagon with the things she needed for dinner. Once the men had been fed at mid-day, Carol would start back with the wagon since she’d travel more slowly than the men on horseback. Beth had plans to clean the house, start supper and then hoped to sew at least some of the pieces she and Carol had cut the day before.

 

Things were going well and she’d nearly finished the cleaning when close to two in the afternoon when she saw a cloud of dust rising from the road to the ranch house. At first she thought it could just be Abraham and Eugene returning, but then her breath caught in her throat because the cloud was too big for only two men on horseback. She’d seen enough dust rising from the Georgia roads to her family’s farm through the years that she knew it was more than two and it was far too early for Daryl and the others to return unless there had been an accident; besides, Daryl and the others had left in a different direction and Abe and Eugene would probably be returning from the direction they’d gone, which wasn’t the road either. She knew where Daryl kept a couple rifles and nipped inside quickly to grab one before returning to the porch, holding the weapon the way she’d been taught by her Daddy years ago even though she wasn’t familiar with the model.

 

Her heart nearly beat out of her chest when she recognized the man who called himself The Governor riding at the head of a group of men. It wasn’t that big a group, only about seven men in all, but Beth was suddenly very aware of how physically tiny she really was and had a second where she felt faint before she suddenly remembered Mr. Walsh at her Daddy’s farm backing down the soldiers who had been ravaging the farm and who were starting to turn on the people. Suddenly, a rush of warmth came over her followed by an icy sensation that felt almost like cold water being poured into her head and trickling through her body, filling her up with a cold certainty she could do whatever needed to be done to defend herself and her home. Raising the rifle, she stepped to the middle of the porch steps and when the men were at the entrance to the yard, she yelled out, “Halt right there, Mr. Blake! You and your men can turn around and go back home now!”

 

Philip Blake raised his hand and stopped his horse, his men stopping near him. Beth recognized Martinez and the spying man, Shumpert, but not the other four, though she’d not forget their faces any time soon, but she stood straight and strong, sighting down the muzzle on the leader, but keeping both eyes open so she could see them all.

 

Blake removed his hat with his left hand, bringing it down over his heart and giving a small, slightly mocking, bow. “Mrs. Elizabeth Dixon, how nice to see you again; and all alone out here on this big place!” he called out, sounding friendly enough, but his words were threatening…he had her name and at least believed her alone in the house.

 

“It’s Mrs. _Daryl_ Dixon, Mr. Blake,” she said, her voice still as cold as whatever was running through her veins, “and I’d thank you and your men to go on back to down. Some of the men are around, but not my husband and it’s not proper for you to be here under these circumstances.” Movement on the right caught her eye and her voice was sharp as she rapped out, “Mr. Shumpert, I’d thank you to stop sidling your horse toward the house! You back him up now to behind Mr. Blake or I will have no problem at all putting a bullet through your boss’ other eye – move!”

 

“Now Mrs. Dixon” Martinez’ voice seemed every bit as oily as it had the day before, “you’re just a young, little thing…where would you have learned to shoot like that?”

 

“Not that it’s any mind to you, Mr. Martinez…Mr. Shumpert, _NOW_ , or I swear to the high, holy God I will kill Mr. Blake in three seconds... _one, two_ …!” The rifle was steady in her hands and her voice still strong and cool; she almost felt her Daddy’s hands on her shoulders, his voice in her shoulder instructing her when she was just a girl shooting at small targets, heard Mr. Walsh’s voice as he’d spoken similar words back on a farm in Georgia…she could feel Maggie’s steadfast determination and knew to her core she could do as she said.

 

“Come back, Shumpert!” Blake’s voice said, still a slight edge of amusement in it showing he wasn’t scared as much as cautious and Shumpert moved back behind him and the other men stayed in the formation they’d stopped in originally. “Now, Mrs. Dixon, please continue with your story of how you became such an expert marksman,” he added as he replaced his hat.

 

“There isn’t much to tell, I grew up on a farm and we were expected to hit what we aimed at to keep our livestock safe and put food on the table.” Her voice was still cold, but casual now…it was an old, familiar story and a part of her life growing up and she saw something small change in the face of The Governor as he watched her. “If you’d like me to show you, I have a good target right now,” her voice lilted with a little humor of her own in response to the condescension she’d heard in Mr. Blake’s voice earlier.

 

“I don’t believe that will be necessary at this time, Mrs. Dixon; we just wanted to come to get to know you a little better. It’s so sad to discover that you’re such a liar,” he added, voice sharpening.

 

“And what do you believe I’ve not been honest about, Mr. Blake? Tell me now so that I may defend myself against such a spurious charge.”

 

“You’re alone out here,” Martinez said for Blake. “We’ve had someone watching you all day and your man left with the others early this morning.”

 

“Those aren’t our only hands,” Beth said casually, her voice again cold and still steady. “Where the others are at the moment is none of your concern, but I assure you I am an honorable woman; however, sadly I do believe that your assessment of my character means we are not destined to be friends and further visits to this ranch will not be tolerated this kindly.”

 

“I’ll bear that in mind, Mrs. Dixon, though we will be back for some further discussion on the subject; for now, I do believe we have business back in town.” Blake turned his horse back toward town as the others turned as well, though Beth didn’t allow herself to relax her position, but did take several steps to the side, keeping Blake in her sights, but hiding her body behind one of the thick posts that supported the roof of the porch, for which she was glad when Blake turned back around and seemed ready to say something further. She was horrified to catch a glint of metal as though the man had drawn his gun while his hat had blocked Beth’s view and held it against the leg that had been slightly away from her, though she didn’t let it show. He eyed Beth’s position and the position of her gun still trained on him, jerked his horse’s head sharply away and spurred at the animal to get it to pick up speed. The other men followed without hesitation.

 

The dust cloud was starting to fade and Beth had just lowered the run when her eye picked up movement off to her right and she spun, jerking the rifle into position again, eyes widening as she recognized the two hands who had been away on their own. They were still on horseback, obviously having just returned and Abraham was giving her a look she couldn’t quite read, but it seemed to be pure disbelief. Eugene…well, she recognized what he was doing with his stare and it made her a little uncomfortable again, (she was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with him or if the look was almost a habit for him); however, it was Eugene who spoke and not the hot-tempered redhead, “We are going to pursue those men for some time to ensure that they have left the property,” the odd man said in his stilted, formal way.

 

“Thank you, but be careful, please…I believe they are extremely dangerous,” she warned.

 

“We will endeavor to remain undetected in our pursuit,” he responded and then they were off, moving away from the road into the grassy hills next running parallel and were soon out of sight.

 

Beth finally lowered the gun with shaking hands, took a deep breath, then pushed it out as best she could to steady herself before turning again to go back inside and start the evening meal. Using her excess energy from the experience with The Governor and his men, Beth made short work of cutting, coating and browning the meat, before chopping the vegetables and softening them in the remaining fat before returning the meat to the pot and adding the rest of the ingredients to make the stew, then setting it to the back of the stove where it could simmer until the men were ready. She also made a couple loaves of sourdough and set them to rise in a warming cupboard before rapidly finishing her remaining housework, keeping nervous eyes on the windows to track any movement. Beth was sitting on the porch carefully sewing the pieces of the bodice together with the tiny stitches her mother, Annette, had so patiently taught to both Maggie and Beth when she saw the wagon returning with Carol in the driver’s seat and sighed with relief at the sight of the other woman, especially knowing it meant Daryl should be home soon if all was well.

 

As they unloaded the wagon, Carol commented approvingly on Beth’s housework, the smell of the food and started talking about how things had gone with their work that day when Beth asked how her day had been. Once they were finished unloading, Beth helped fix Carol a bath in the gray-haired woman’s room so that Carol could wash off the hard work of the day. Once the large bathing pan was free, Beth took her own bath, Carol helping rinse her with clean, warm water before the blonde dried herself off and changed into a loose white shirt of Daryl’s that was comfortable across her sore shoulders and a skirt that was also comfortable, though she still had Carol help her back into her corset since the men would all be there for supper. They’d finished, emptied the basin and the bread was baked and out of the oven before Daryl, Axel and Oscar returned as the sunset was at its brightest. They put their horses up and started to head toward the house when Daryl spied Abe and Eugene returning from the direction of town, loping their horses and stopped to watch the men approach; Beth knew what was coming and hurried out to meet them, reaching Daryl’s side and sliding her fingers into those of his left hand. He looked down at her and did a double-take, narrowing his eyes at his shirt on her with the small growl she was coming to recognize that made her shiver and she leaned into his side for a moment, in spite of the fact that Oscar and Axel are still nearby and she could hear Carol come out the door and join them.

 

“Why are they coming from town?” Axel’s slightly nasal voice broke into the silence when the riders are almost within speaking distance. “They were supposed to be working in almost the opposite direction.”

 

“Did they all leave without a fuss?” Beth called out as the men are now within range.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Abe replied as they drew up before her and Daryl. “All of them stayed together and headed back to town.”

 

“What happened?” Daryl asked sharply.

 

“Governor and six of his men came here today when she was alone in the house,” Abe answered, nodding toward Beth. “Eugene and I had just returned and were just over that rise when we heard your little wife here, so we got off and crawled up and there she was up on the porch, holding that rifle you’ve had in the corner of the front room for a month of Sundays, and just facing them all down. Governor said he’d had one of the men scouting the house all day to that point and he thought she was alone here, but she stood up to him; had him right buffaloed.”

 

Daryl had let go of Beth’s hand while Abe was talking and seemed unaware that his hand was now around her waist and she could feel his arm tightening with each word that came out Abe’s mouth, “What the fuck did he want?” Daryl growled, looking between Beth and Abe.

 

“From what you all have said I’d think he was coming with his men to see if they could take the ranch house and get it away from Dale,” Beth said, “but I don’t think it was truly a serious attempt yet.”

 

“Ma’am,” Abe broke in, “I’ve seen things like that for some time and that might have been just a first attempt, but that was no feint. You hadn’t handled yourself and we would have come back to find we didn’t have this place or jobs or maybe even our lives tonight, depending on how he was inclined to deal with the situation.” The big man nodded at her respectfully, “You’ve got some sand, Ma’am.”

 

“It was quite a fascinating display of courage” Eugene added, “It was very…stirring.”

 

Beth felt her face flame at the comment and she saw Daryl’s face looking rather pink, too…she’d have almost thought it was the sunset except that she could feel the tension in him and said quickly, “Well, thank you, but why don’t you put your horses up and we can tell everyone about it over supper?” She looked up at Daryl and added, “May I speak to you in private just for a moment?”

 

He gave her a quiet nod and they headed back toward the kitchen door, Daryl cleaning his boots on the boot scrape before heading inside with Beth and following her back toward his office. They’d barely inside with the door shut when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her with bruising force before pulling back and looking down at her, “Tell me it wasn’t that shorter rifle with the bird carved into the stock.”

 

“It was,” she said with a sigh.

 

“Damn it, Beth, I just finished fixing that one and testing it, it’s not even loaded again yet!” In spite of sounding frustrated he still had his arms around her waist and wasn’t letting her go and she was awfully happy to be pressed close to his chest and looking up at him..

 

“I remember, honey” Beth responded quietly, “I don’t know where the ammunition for it is though.”

 

“You faced them down with an empty gun? _Knowing_ you had an empty gun?”

 

Beth blushed, but nodded and grinned back up at him as Daryl’s look of incredulity morphed into one of admiration. “Well, shit” he said before letting out a rumbling belly laugh and drawing her up to kiss her again passionately.

 

If her hair was a little mussed while they ate the delicious supper, everyone at least pretended not to notice as they discussed what had happened and made some plans.

 

o))O((o

 

After supper the hands retired outside to either go to the bunkhouse or start on watch and Daryl showed Beth where the various weapons were in the house as well as the ammunition for them, making sure she knew how to load the various models as well as finding a small revolver for her to carry and a belt and holster for her to use. She admired the bow and arrows he still used on occasion for silent hunting, but they didn’t talk for long since he still had to update the log book before bed.

 

Beth retired to the bedroom, taking off as much as she could, but leaving on Daryl’s shirt over her corset and chemise so that she could sit at the small dressing table with a pen, ink and the diary she’d found after unpacking her bag, having decided she’d spend at least some of the time Daryl used updating the log book to keep a record of her days. She’d forgotten about the book on her travels, but had pulled it and her pen out of the side pocket where she’d tucked them before leaving home and had purchased the ink the day before. Writing quickly, she noted briefly the date and some of the things that had happened, adding how happy she was to be there, how much she loved her new husband already and some of her hopes for the future, including the possibility of them having children and maybe a ranch or farm of their own one day. She’d finished, cleaned the pen and put it and the ink bottle neatly away, but left the diary open to make sure that the pages dried before she put it away.

 

By the time Daryl came in, she was curled on the bed reading one of her favorite psalms from the Bible, but laid the book aside and slid off the bed to go to him as she enjoyed watching his face soften out of its usual stern expression into one that spoke of very different emotions. As he slid his arms around her, with another of those small growls she already loved, she went up on her toes to meet his lips as he bent toward her. She couldn’t help but give a quick smile as he picked her up and started walking her toward the bed as she busied herself undoing the buttons on the shirt he was wearing, but their kisses quickly became more passionate and engrossing and it was getting harder for her to focus on pushing the buttons out of the holes and gave her own little grumble of frustration as she became more impatient, giving up on his shirt and grabbing for his pants to undo them, feeling a puff of Daryl’s breath on her face from his amusement.

 

She sighed as they finally came loose and she could carefully grab his hard length and pull it free, rubbing herself against him in her impatience and another growl rumbled through his chest as he lifted her up so she could guide him inside her, gasping against his mouth as she got seated onto him and rolled her hips against him, pulling her mouth from his to rest her forehead in the curve where his shoulder and neck met as she groaned and bit her lip. When she rolled her hips again, Daryl growled out, “Girl, I’m not gonna hold on if you keep doing that.”

 

“Good” she said as she undulated again and was rewarded with a small, sharp slap on her backside.

 

“Girl…” he rasped again, suddenly pulling her off and turning her around to bend her forward over the bed and they both groaned as he thrust into her from behind, hands going to her hips to help her thrust back into him at the same time. It didn’t take long for them to get close to the brink.

 

Beth gasped out “Daryl, I want to turn over! Come on, honey” and Daryl pulled out to flip her over before entering her again and bent over to her so that they could hold each other as they continued to work together to bring one another release and when it came, Daryl rolled off and Beth rolled into him so that they could snuggle, one hand curling around one of his shoulders and the other arm around his waist as he curled his own arms around her.

 

After a moment, Beth pulled herself up so she could turn his head and kiss her husband deeply, before laying her head gently on his shoulder and cuddling back into him.

 

A thought struck her and she turned so she could rest her chin on his shoulder and look at him, “Daryl?”

 

“Hmmmm?” he hummed in response.

 

“”Why did you apologize the other night…you know…after?”

 

The tips of Daryl’s ears turned pink as he opened his eyes to look back at her with a suddenly shy gaze as she waited patiently, “I just…what we just did? I want it to last as long as possible and…well, I want you to enjoy it too.”

 

“I do…you’re _perfect_! I love being with you like this…well, being with you at all, but…you’re wonderful…but, I’m really happy, Daryl,” she reassured him.

 

“You are?” he asked, still watching her, but drawing her up closer so he could bend his head and kiss her lightly.

 

“Mmmhmmm” she hummed in agreement, “I really am. You’re so good to me, Daryl, I just want to be good for you too.”

 

“I never expected this…you…but I’m really happy, Beth.”

 

She hummed contentedly in the back of her throat, “Good, because I’m yours.” A thrill ran through her body as his eyes changed and seemed to darken.

 

“That so?”

 

She nodded again as she pushed up to kiss him once more, “All yours.”

 

With another growl he rolled so he was over her again and captured her lips with his.

 

o))O((o

 

It was still early when Daryl and Beth set out on horseback the next morning, Beth riding sidesaddle on a gentle roan mare Daryl picked for her and Daryl on a larger bay gelding. As they rode, Daryl told her a little about Rick and his wife, Lori including how Rick had once been the sheriff in the town he’d lived in before this and how Rick had arrested Merle at one point in the past for basically being Merle and disturbing the peace. When Beth asked how he and Rick had ever become friends considering their pasts, Daryl had basically shrugged and given an embarrassed little grin.

 

“We got stuck working together because of this gang that came to town and was raising Cain. They killed a few people, hurt others, tried to do almost what Blake’s trying to do here, just not as smoothly.”

 

“What happened?” Beth asked curiously.

 

“Short story is a group of us got together and fought them off, but some of us died or got badly injured. Rick even let Merle out for a while to help out…Merle may have had his problems, but you wanted him on your side in a fight.” Daryl’s expression of grief is visible to Beth, but she knows him well enough to know he won’t want her to fuss, so she keeps riding right beside him and just stays quiet, waiting until he continues, “I couldn’t believe it when he was killed, he’d survived so much it seemed like nothing was ever going to kill him.

 

“I think we always feel that way,” Beth said quietly. “All the people I’ve lost, I’ve never thought they could go at all, much less the ways they did.”

 

Daryl pulled the gelding up abruptly, so Beth pulled her mare up and watched her husband to see what had caused him to stop, but he wasn’t looking around as though he’d seen something alarming; instead, he was looking at her and the look made her feel slightly weak.

 

“Beth…I can’t…” he stopped and swallowed as she saw the tears in his eyes and realized what he was trying to say.

 

She couldn’t help but reach for him and try to get as close as possible without toppling either or both of them from their saddles, “You can if it comes down to it, Daryl, but I’m not going away willingly and we can all work together to try to be safe.”

 

“Should’ve brought the wagon,” Daryl growled, making her grin as she leaned in for a kiss.

 

“We’ll plan better next time.”

 

Their conversation changed and became lighter after that and they made good time the rest of the way to Rick’s, Beth challenging Daryl to a race at one point and both of them laughing by the time it ended, even if they kept scanning the landscape and looking for anything out of the ordinary.

 

Rick’s place was small compared to Dale’s, but the house was beautiful and reminded Beth a little of the farmhouse in which she’d grown up, only with a steeper roof to shed the snow more effectively.

 

A teenage boy came out to the yard, calling to someone in the house and a tall, very slender brunette woman carrying a baby came out of the house as Rick appeared from the barn.

 

By the time Daryl and Beth reached the others, they were both grinning and excited, Daryl because they were friends he’d known for a long time and Beth because she was meeting some of his friends…well, and the baby. She’d loved helping to care for the babies and children back home. Daryl introduced her around and she greeted Rick and his wife, Lori, joked with Carl and before she knew it she had Judith snuggled close in her arms and was seated in the kitchen talking with Lori like old friends and sipping cool well water from a glass.

 

The men had gone off to look at something together, Carl tagging along and watching Daryl with a slightly worshipful look that Beth could completely understand…Daryl was definitely someone she’d want their son to emulate one day and said so to Lori without thinking after they’d been chatting for a few minutes.

 

“So, how is that going?” Lori asked frankly. When Beth looked at her with large, startled eyes the older woman added, “Well, I know we barely know each other, but if you ever have any questions or need to know anything, you can ask me and I’ll give you the best advice I can. Did your mother have a chance to talk to you about sex and marriage before she died?”

 

“My parents had a very happy marriage and set a good example, so I hope ours will be too. Both my folks dropped little bits of wisdom about marriage and relationships pretty regularly, but never did have time to talk to me about sex.” Beth knew she was turning a bright pink, “Well, unless it was about not having it until I was married; though they did say anything both people agreed to after that was allowed.”

 

“If you have any questions you can ask me, if you’d like.” Lori flushed herself, “I don’t want to intrude and you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I thought I’d offer since you’re here without any of your family, you’re young and you seem sweet and it’s not like it’s something you can talk about with just anyone.”

 

“Well…” Beth looked down, at Judith, then back up, “is there anything you can recommend I try or something Rick particularly likes you think I should try with Daryl?”

 

“Have you used your mouth on him yet?”

 

“We’ve kissed a lot,” Beth said with assurance.

 

Lori laughed and gave whatever was in the pot one last stir before she picked up the teapot and said, “Let me just get this ready, we have a lot to talk about.”

 

o))O((o

 

By the time Daryl came in with Rick and Carl, Beth was feeling slightly shocked, but much better informed and definitely curious about certain things and had also learned a couple new patterns she fully intended to make with some of the fine, soft materials she’d bought the day before.

 

Beth hadn’t discussed with Lori any of the things that had happened in town or on the ranch and Daryl had apparently talked about other things with the other guys because after they’d all washed up and settled around the table for the delicious dinner Lori had prepared, Daryl raised the subject and Rick nodded saying he’d heard the story about Martinez and The Governor having their eyes on Beth at the store and people had noticed Shumpert hanging around town and watching them.

 

Trading off, Daryl and Beth told the others the full story, including what had happened the day before. Like Daryl, Rick and Carl’s first reaction was to laugh at the idea of Beth facing down those men with an empty gun, but Lori stayed completely sober and turned to her husband and son to say sharply, “You can’t tell anyone at all about this! If they find out what happened, they’ll stop at nothing to hurt her.” The others sobered instantly, “I mean it, not a word to anyone, no matter how good a friend you think they are or how admirable you think the story is and how badly you want something to say… _not one word.”_

 

“We’re not telling the men or Carol” Daryl said definitely. “Nothing’s happening to Beth if I can help it.”

 

“Or you,” Beth said, locking eyes with Daryl and momentarily forgetting there were other people in the room until Rick cleared his throat gently and Daryl and Beth tore their eyes away from one another to see the other couple looking amused.

 

“Do you know how to shoot, Beth?” Carl asked her.

 

“Yes, but I haven’t done it for a while.”

 

“I can show you if you want,” the teen volunteered eagerly as Judith began to wake up and fuss.

 

“I’ll take her and feed her,” Lori said adding, “Why don’t you all go outside and get in some practice?”

 

Which is how Beth ended up outside holding a rifle, being made to go through loading and unloading the rifle she was using a couple times to satisfy Daryl and Rick. They’d had Carl set up some bottles along a fence to an empty pasture and when the teen rejoined them, all three helped give her advice until they watched her bring the rifle up to her shoulder confidently, snugging her cheek into the stock, lining up her shot and squeezing the trigger slowly until it went off and she watched the first bottle crack and fly off the fence. The guys whistled and Beth enjoyed the look of surprise on Daryl’s face as she reloaded and took down the next bottle. It wasn’t a perfect center shot and Shawn would have mocked her mercilessly for it even it had still knocked the bottle off, so she aimed more carefully the next time and enjoyed as that bottle burst.

 

Rick was laughing when he reached out and took the gun from her after that saying, “So, you can shoot with a rifle, what about a handgun?”

 

“I’m not as good with them,” Beth admitted. “Rifles are heavier, but I’m more used to them. Daddy hated the idea of me carrying a handgun…he said rifles were tools, but felt that too many times handguns were simply used to kill people.”

 

“Well, you’re carrying the one I gave you, right?” Daryl asked, touching her elbow anxiously.

 

“It’s right here in my pocket,” Beth replied, patting the skirt where the revolver rested.

 

“Well, get it out and let’s see you load and unload it and then we can do a little shooting,” Rick instructed. “Carl’s a very good shot and he can help you with this.”

 

Carl helping Beth shoot lasted until the teen put his arms around her to help her line up a shot, at which point Daryl took over, even though it took more of Beth’s concentration to pay attention with her husband’s arms around her and that made Rick laugh. After a couple shots, Rick came over and shooed Daryl back a pace, helping Beth adjust her shot by minutely pushing her back, shoulders and arms into position and helping her shift her stance slightly. Once he was satisfied, Rick nodded and Beth’s next shot knocked the next bottle off the fence and he continued to work with her, Daryl hovering nearby and Carl calling encouragement while she made several shots before the boy took the revolver and knocked off the last three bottles, apparently without any real effort on his part, which Beth admired appropriately.

 

By the time they were done, Lori had come out to call them in for dessert and they all went in to get a piece of the delicious blackberry pie she’d made. Daryl was the one to pick up Judith this time and Beth enjoyed watching the little girl smile and squeal at him, making small noises and apparently trying to yank his sparse beard out by the roots with her sticky little hands while the rest of the Grimes family enjoyed teasing him. She had to catch herself from drifting off into a fantasy of Daryl holding their own daughter like that someday and focus on the conversation, though between seeing him with the kids and his friends that day and the discussion she’d had with Lori earlier, focusing on anything other than getting her husband alone for a few hours was becoming more and more difficult.

 

Rick, Carl and Lori all agreed to keep their eyes and ears open for any gossip that might indicate what The Governor was up to and Rick would send a message to Dale and Irma with Carl when the boy went to school Monday morning. Daryl and Rick discussed strategy while the others listened and chimed in sometimes. The most important things would be to try to hire more people as soon as possible and to not leave the ranch house undefended as well as warning the other neighbors. Judith was really too small for Lori to travel much, so she would stay in and around the house at their place while Beth and Carol would do the same at the ranch while the men continued to work the cows. It was more urgent than ever that they get as many branded as they could to ensure the calves weren’t rustled and all the animals were accounted for as best they could under the circumstances.

 

Daryl and Beth reluctantly left not long after and started back home. After they’d ridden for a while and were back on the ranch land and Beth felt sure they were alone, she pulled up and slid off her horse. “Beth?” Daryl asked, pulling up himself and swinging down, ground-hitching the gelding by merely pulling down on the reigns as the patient horse stood still. “Is there something wrong with Violet?”

 

“Well, could you come here a minute and help me with something?” Beth asked, pretending to check the saddle. When Daryl came close and bent in, Beth caught his lips enthusiastically with hers and moaned into his mouth as it promptly opened for her and their tongues met. After a few moments of ardent kissing, Beth slipped her lips from Daryl’s and moved down his neck as she agilely undid his pants and reached for his hardened length, running her fingers over it and sliding her thumb along the slickened slit along the top, making them both groan.

 

When Beth dropped to her knees in front of him, Daryl’s breath caught, then came out in a gasp as she touched her tongue to the head of his manhood, before swirling it around and putting her mouth around it, keeping her teeth carefully away from the sensitive skin. Licking, sucking and swirling with enthusiasm, Beth soon had Daryl moaning, his hands gently holding her head, stroking over her hair and gently massaging her scalp through her hair. Once she really got going it didn’t take long for Daryl to come with a hoarse shout and Beth swallowed his cum, then stood up and smiled at him, redoing the fastenings on his gray trousers.

 

Daryl hauled her into his chest and kissed her until her knees were weak and she was shaking with the effort of standing upright. “What brought that on?” Daryl asked hoarsely.

 

Beth flushed, “Well, Lori and I had a little talk today and she gave me some ideas of...things you might like; plus,” she hesitated and bit her lip as she looked up at him, “I keep thinking about how much I love you and I don’t want to lose you either and I think you just need to know how much…I love you.”

 

“I love you too, Beth.” Daryl said softly, drawing her back to him for another round of kissing before pulling back and adding, “Remind me to bring Lori a present the next time we see her….maybe a small gold mine would be enough?”

 

“Well, wait until we try some of the other things…you may want to get her a larger one,” Beth teased with a wicked grin.

 

o))O((o


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daryl goes away for a few days and some more people arrive...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for how long it took me to get this chapter out! I got distracted by a plot bunny that was pussyfooting around in my head and had some personal stuff to clear up, but here's the chapter now and I hope you like it! Thank you so much to everyone who has left kudos, commented and followed this story!

Daryl left with all the men the day after their visit to Rick’s to try to find any unbranded calves or cattle on the ranch and make sure they were marked with the Rocking H brand to show they were Dale’s, leaving Beth and Carol behind to look after the ranch house and gardens. For days they canned or dried everything they could to prepare for the coming winter, cared for the horses that were being kept in the small barn, did chores around the house and worked on Beth’s new outfits between everything else.

 

Beth missed her husband, but spent some time each night working on new underthings using the patterns that Lori had provided to her and dreaming of their time together. The two women were taking shifts on guard duty at night, not trusting The Governor and his men to leave them alone. They saw some hints that there could have been people nearby, but did not want to leave one another or the house to investigate; however, overall things seemed to stay quiet.

 

“Do you think this is part of his game?” Beth asked one morning as she sleepily sipped her coffee after pushing her food around for a few minutes. “We’re wearing ourselves out while he’s probably relaxing and just waiting for us to collapse from exhaustion.”

 

“I think he’s completely crazy” Carol responded with a shrug after she’d finished chewing the mouthful of eggs and biscuit she’d just put in her mouth. “You can’t figure out crazy.” She watched as Beth got up and refilled her own cup, before taking the pot over to refill Carol’s before continuing, “From what Mrs. Matthison said, he’s been completely unpredictable even with his men and some of the women who work for him. He beat one of his men half to death for speaking out of turn while he barely reacted to another man raping one of the women who works in his bar.”

 

“Ugh,” the young blonde shuddered, “Some men just treat women like they’re worth less than animals. I’m so thankful Daryl’s not like that…he could have been anything.”

 

“He’s one of the good ones, definitely,” Carol said gently, “So are you; I don’t think he’s ever been so happy.”

 

“I’m really glad, Carol; he deserves to be happy.” Beth looked shyly up at the older woman, “What about you? Are you happy? Do you ever think about getting married again?”

 

Carol gave a soft snort, “Ed was enough for me, I don’t want to be tied to another man.” She paused and looked at Beth who was regarding her curiously, “What is it?”

 

“Well…Axel seems to like you,” Beth said hesitantly.

 

“Axel thinks he’s a charmer and seems to like anything human and female; if you weren’t married and he didn’t know Daryl would kill him immediately, he’d be right after you too.”

 

“It’s nice that he’s leaving me alone, but I don’t really need Daryl to save me from a flirt. It’s awfully nice to be married to him for other reasons, though,” she added thoughtfully.

 

“Well, that’s why we’re making you a couple fuller shirts with ties that tighten or loosen them and skirts with drawstrings instead of set waistbands.” Carol grinned as Beth colored prettily before she relented, “You’re looking a little tired; why don’t you go and take a nap? Guard duty’s taking it out of us both.”

 

The younger woman agreed reluctantly. They’d done so much the last few days that the vegetables in the small garden were almost caught up…anything left in there would be fine until the next day and Beth was tired and hot. She’d been so miserable in the heat that she hadn’t been able to eat much and even the coffee she loved wasn’t sitting too well on her stomach.

 

Beth was awakened about an hour later by the sound of Carol’s voice; she wasn’t sure how long the older woman had been talking when she awoke fully, but she hurriedly pulled on her boots, grabbed the little rifle that was now loaded and headed to check the windows on the opposite side of the house before sidling toward the front porch where she could hear voices, but stayed off toward the side. There were three riders in the ranch yard and all looked road-weary, faces tired and wearing stained, dirty clothing. The man up front who’s doing most of the talking had a gentle, steady presence, the woman seemed anxious, but determined while the other man seemed oddly happy. They all seemed non-threatening and Beth hurried to Carol’s side, dropping her hand to her side to hide the rifle in her skirts as she stood next to the other woman.

 

“We’ve been on the road for months now; we’re hunting work if you have it or we’ll work for a meal if that’s all you have,” the big man’s voice was quiet and respectful, but firm, nothing about him spoke of being up to anything underhanded. He’d removed his knit hat while speaking to Carol and gave a nod of acknowledgement and a small smile when he saw Beth.

 

“Are you coming from town?” Beth asked curiously.

 

“Haven’t been there yet,” the large man replied. “We were going to head there next if we couldn’t find anything here; we’d rather work on a ranch than in town, if we can. If you don’t have anything, maybe you know of another place that needs hands?” He sounded so hopeful that it moved Beth’s heart.

 

With a quick glance at Carol, the small blonde took a slight step forward, still keeping the rifle hidden, “My husband will have the last word, but we can cat least give you dinner tonight and you could help out a couple days in return for some food and housing.”

 

Slipping her rifle inside to lean against the wall, Carol stepped away from the door saying, “The other hands will be back in a coupe days, but there are some free bunks in the bunkhouse, though we have some room in the ranch house where you could stay, young lady.”

 

“I’d rather stay with my brother for now, thank you,” the tall young woman said, gesturing to the larger man. They don’t really look alike, though their wide-set eyes are similar, but her small-boned slimness is a stark contrast to the larger man’s bulk.

 

Carol nodded to have Beth stay back in the house and went with the others to get them settled where they wouldn’t interfere with the hands that already existed at the ranch. If Daryl decided to keep them on, they’d have to settle the woman, whose named turned out to be Sasha, somewhere else, but for now she could stay in the bunk house.

 

It was good to hear new things from the travelers about their time on the road and learn more about them. The smaller man, Bob, had been the only survivor of two different units during the war and talked about how blessed he was to not be alone anymore.

 

The newcomers admitted they’d heard of The Governor back at one of the forts on the trail, but just that the man seemed to be amassing a good bit of money and many men apparently liked The Capitol Bar, but all seemed confused by the questions about the man. After a quick glance and a nod from Beth, Carol briefly explained the situation, being deliberately vague and delicately skirting any phrasing that could be considered slanderous. Tyreese’s response was to say that they needed a place that was safe with regular meals and secure beds in which to sleep at night and they would do whatever it took to have those things, including helping them fight.

 

As the meal went past it seemed the more Tyreese spoke just to Carol and she to him which made Beth smile a little to herself after her talk with Carol about how the older woman hadn’t wanted to find another man since it seemed she may have done so whether or not she’d been looking.

 

Once everyone was settled, Beth took the first shift, walking restlessly while sipping coffee until four hours had passed, then she went in to get Carol before crawling into bed herself. The next day Carol didn’t wake her up and she slept well past sunrise, waking with a headache and feeling nauseated to the point she wasn’t sure she could even get up. When she was finally able to stand, spots floated in front of her eyes and then her vision narrowed to pinpricks until she passed out, trying to catch herself and pulling a small stack of books down as she fell with a crash.

 

When she woke again it was to gentle hands smoothing a cool cloth over her forehead and face and she opened her eyes to find her head in Carol’s lap with Sasha nearby wringing out the cloth in some cool water before moving it back to Beth’s face.

 

Carol asked if she remembered what happened and Beth told her as best she could, but when they tried to stand her up again she simply passed out once more as soon as she was upright. The next time she awoke Beth was in bed, Sasha still nearby soothing the cloth over her aching head before going to the door and calling for Carol, who brought in a glass of cooled coffee and some headache powder, which they gave to Beth after helping her sit up, but the medicine didn’t stay down and Beth was still miserable hours later. When Beth objected that she needed to get up to help Carol, the older woman replied that Tyreese and Bob were being huge helps and that the others would help her with guard duty that night, which worried Beth, but the younger woman could do nothing about it. Sasha had left after Beth was finally able to take some more powders and fall asleep.

 

The young blonde didn’t awaken again until the next morning, but when she did she felt better and was able to cautiously get out of bed, dressed and headed for the kitchen. She hadn’t taken her corset off since the last time Carol had helped her put it on after she’d bathed, which made dressing easier, but she missed Daryl for many reasons, including him helping her get it on and off and the fun they usually had around those events. She was a little surprised to realize she could no longer get dressed without wishing her husband were there with her. Checking the calendar in her diary she confirmed he should be back that day and felt excitement well through her at the thought of his return. _Hopefully they’ve gotten through most of the cattle by now; I hate the idea of them being gone this long again_ she thought with a sigh. _I can’t wait to try out my new underthings and see how he likes them._

 

When Beth arrived in the kitchen she found she was awake before Carol and started a fresh pot of coffee and some sourdough biscuits. She was slicing the bacon when the gray-haired women emerged from her bedroom and smiled in welcome.

 

“You look like you’re feeling better,” Carol said, pouring herself a mug of coffee and making a soft moan. “Oh, you make great coffee!” She settled into one of the chairs and sipped some more.

 

“Thank you! How did the new folks do on watch last night? I’m so sorry I couldn’t help!”

 

“They did really well, I think; Tyreese seems very nice and so do the others.”

 

“I think so too and I hope Daryl does as well,” Beth replied, placing slices of bacon into a couple large cast iron pans.

 

“Here, let me do that, just get yourself a cup of coffee and relax a minute. You had a terrible day yesterday.”

 

Beth gave her a quick, careful hug, holding her hands so they wouldn’t get grease on the other woman’s clothing before moving to wash them, “I did…I haven’t felt that kind of pain before!”

 

“Well, if you haven’t had one like that before you could go through the rest of your life without having another one. Besides, everything was fine; it gave me a good chance to observe everyone and I really think Daryl and the others will like these people.”

 

“I’m glad you think so too.”

 

When Beth tried to eat breakfast she found the bacon and eggs tasted off to her, though the others insisted they were good, so she stuck to eating a biscuit with a little jam, the only things that tasted good to her. The coffee didn’t sit well on her stomach either and she reluctantly settled for some water as she chatted with the others.

 

Sasha and Bob had taken the last shift and they retired after they had breakfast while Beth fixed a pot of stew that could just be left in the oven for long, slow cooking and put some dried apple slices to soak before she went out and helped Carol and Tyreese with more of the garden, then Tyreese and Carol went to their respective beds to rest while Bob and Sasha came out to help. It was getting near sunset when Beth finally went inside to make a pie crust and fill a long pan prepared with a bottom crust with the plumped apple slices, sugar and spices before covering it with a top crust, cutting vents in before setting it in the oven to bake. The pie hadn’t been in long when she hears Bob call a warning from outside and flew out the door carrying her rifle only to see Daryl cresting one of the ridges before signaling whoever’s with him to stay back when he sees the strangers in the yard.

 

“That’s my husband!’ she called to Bob and Sasha as she waved to Daryl and started toward him, smiling and excited as he whistled to those with him and rode forward until he could swing down and scoop her up close to him, even if it wasn’t totally appropriate in front of the others and she felt almost scorched by the look in his eyes.

 

“Oh, I’ve missed you!” Beth gasped, feeling tears well in her eyes as how much she’d missed him really hit her and she snuggled in close to him, tucking her head under his chin as he turned them slightly away from the house to at least partially hide this unusual display of affection.

 

“Did anything happen? Are you okay? Who are those people?” Daryl rasped, concerned at her behavior. “Did you lose weight?” he added as he settled his other arm around her as well, reigns looped into his elbow and running a hand gently over her back as he watched Abe and the others going through introductions with the newcomers.

 

“The big man’s Tyreese, the woman’s his sister, Sasha and the smaller man is Bob; they are looking for work and we told them they needed to talk to you first,” she said, finally letting him go a little and pulling back as reluctant as she was to do either, settling for walking as close to him as she could. “Nothing bad’s happened, but I haven’t had much of an appetite and had a bad headache yesterday, so I may have lost a little. How were things for you? Did you get all the cows?”

 

They chat about how things were for Daryl and the others while out. They’d checked and branded all the cows and calves they could find that seemed to be theirs, pushing some others with other brands back to their own land. As they got close to the others, Tyreese approached, introduced himself and offered to take Daryl’s horse so that he could head back to the house with Beth.

 

Instead, Daryl nodded Beth back toward the house while he walked toward the corral with the others to put up the horses and talk to the newcomers. Beth hurried back inside to check on the pie and pull it out, crust browned and flaky, to place it on the counter to cool. The steam rising off the slab pie smelled wonderful and made her mouth water, but instead of focusing on that, Beth also pulled the heavy pot of stew out, placed it on the stove, pulled off the lid and carefully divided it into a second pot. Once that was done, she mixed up a quick drop biscuit dough and placed a number of smaller biscuits all over the top of the stew, watching in satisfaction as they puffed from the heat and steam before carefully putting the pots back in the oven to let the biscuits brown. She’d chopped up some potatoes and a cabbage from the cold cellar as well as the onions and carrots she usually used and added in a healthy amount of peas toward the end so that they wouldn’t need another vegetable. During the day the heat made her long for the cool suppers they’d sometimes had back in Georgia, but they were up high enough on the ranch that the temperature dropped significantly after the sun set and she thought everyone would appreciate the hot, filling dish.

 

The stew and dumplings turned out perfectly and the others ate hungrily, but Beth found she didn’t have much appetite for her food, only taking a small amount of stew and one dumpling and forcing herself to eat them only after she caught Daryl eyeing her with some concern. Seeing him look at her with such tender interest made heat curl low in her belly and it must have shown in her eyes as Daryl’s eyes darkened in response and his spoon faltered on its way to his mouth.

 

“Does anyone want pie?” Carol’s slightly too-chipper voice broke into their thoughts and they tore their eyes away awkwardly, Daryl finishing the bite on his spoon and Beth placing hers in her empty bowl as Abraham enthusiastically replied “Hell, yes!” to Carol’s question and the older woman hurried to get up and bring the pie over to the table, cut generous pieces and serve them to everyone.

 

Daryl and Beth dragged their attention back to the others for the rest of the meal, pleased that they seemed to be getting along well and Daryl agreed to try them out for a few weeks to make sure things continued going well. Sasha had moved her things to a room in the barn that Daryl had used at one time when Dale and Irma had spent more time living on the ranch and their store was only open three days a week, so everyone was settled.

 

When the others finally left and Carol and Tyreese went out to keep watch, Daryl slipped his arm around Beth and drew her back toward their bedroom.

 

“You don’t have to work anymore tonight?” Beth asked excitedly since she’d been thinking he’d have to go to his office and copy things out of the travel diary and into his log book before coming to bed.

 

“Nope, not going anywhere tomorrow so I’ll do it then. Got more important things to do tonight,” he added, voice lowering to a growl as he turned to look down at her significantly.

 

“Oh” she said, her breath hitching as she looked up at him, “Oh, I really approve of that plan.” She grinned a little even as she felt that heat again, “I’ve been wanting to show you the new pantalets I made at Lori’s suggestion…I think you’ll like them.”

 

The low rumble that came from her husband told her he liked the idea, but she still gave a squeak when Daryl scooped her up and carried her through the door of their bedroom as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He continued to support her with one hand while slipping the other under her rucked-up skirt to rub his fingers over her clit and stopped, wide-eyed when his hands encountered just her without material between them.

 

“Lori said making pantalets without a crotch would make things easier for us here or if you took me out with you for a night or two,” Beth giggled as Daryl’s eyes narrowed again and she had the delightfully shivery feeling of being his prey, at least in this way.

 

“I like ‘em,” Daryl rasped at her, running two fingers up her slit and feeling how wet she was for him before he suddenly thrust those fingers inside her eliciting both a small squeak and a longer groan.

 

Beth slid one of her arms from around his neck and moved it so that she could stroke her husband’s length through his trousers as he continued to thrust his fingers into her, before undoing the fasteners and sliding her hand inside. He wasn’t wearing any underthings and she moaned softly in anticipation; she’d missed him the entire time he’d been gone and suddenly his fingers weren’t enough. “Daryl, please honey, I want you inside me so badly! I need you right now.”

 

“Didn’t have to ask me twice,” he growled in response, his mouth quirking up at the corners and she loved the mix of heat and humor in his eyes. Removing his fingers, he moved to carefully pull his length from his trousers, then simply lifted her enough to seat her on his member and turned them so that they were up against the wood of the door as he started to move inside Beth, making her gasp and undulate against him as she moved so that her face rested against his neck and she could breathe him in. It was obvious that any bathing he’d done had been minimal while out and even though he’d washed his face and neck as well as hands before eating he smelled of sweat, horse and leather as well as his own clean, almost spicy musk that was just Daryl and the combination made her want him even more and she could feel herself growing even wetter as she started to kiss and lick his neck between whispering his name.

 

He groaned in response and thrust faster and harder into her and she barely felt it when he bit her shoulder, close to her neck but where it would still be hidden by her clothing before starting to whisper encouragement to her. Moving her hand back to rub at her clit it didn’t take long for them to finish and Beth moved her head so she could kiss him again. “Oh, Daryl, I missed you so badly! I’m so glad you’re home!”

 

“Missed you too, sweetheart,” Daryl said before carefully disengaging them and setting her down. “Let’s get ready for bed.”

 

As Daryl was helping Beth with her corset, he was distracted from having some fun examining her new pantalets, “You _have_ lost weight since I’ve been gone.” There was concern in his voice and hands as he gently touched her and turned her to face him, “You’re sure you’re okay?”

 

“I feel fine now,” Beth affirmed. “As a matter of fact, I’d be willing to show you just how good I do feel, if you’d like,” she added with a saucy grin.

 

Daryl rumbled low in his throat at her words and brought her in for another kiss as he finished helping her out of her clothes and they kept on kissing and touching as she returned the favor and helped him get undressed.

 

“Wish I’d had a chance to take a bath,” he grumbled as they climbed into bed and she rolled on top of him, straddling his waist. “Too damn eager to get you in bed.”

 

“I don’t mind, I like how you smell,” Beth responded with another kiss. “I couldn’t change the sheets while you were gone because I wanted to be able to smell you while you were away…it helped a little with the loneliness.” Suddenly feeling a little shy she looked down and traced a line on his chest, “As tired as I was every night, I still missed you so much I could barely sleep” she confessed.

 

He was silent for a moment and when she glanced back up into his eyes the tender possessiveness she saw there made her heart skip for a moment.

 

“Missed you too, Beth.” He suddenly gave a little huff of laughter as he gathered her closer to his chest and she settled her face into the crook of his neck to cuddle for a moment. “I kept telling myself it’s stupid to miss you so much when I’ve only had you here a couple weeks, but it didn’t really make it easier.”

 

“Do you have to go away again soon?” Beth asked, trying to keep the plaintiveness out of her voice.

 

“We’ll stay here a day or two, rest a little, go back out for maybe just one or two nights, then we’ve got the church picnic to go to.”

 

Beth sighed a little, “I do look forward to meeting more people and getting to know others at little better, but I’m worried at what that Mr. Blake will try either there or by sending his men here while we’re gone and I do wish we could take everyone with us, but I know we can’t.”

 

“Who’d you leave here if it were up to you?” Daryl asked curiously.

 

“Probably Oscar and Axel as well as Tyreese, Sasha and Bob for sure because hopefully they don’t know about them yet. We’ve seen some indications that there were people watching the ranch…birds that started to settle, then didn’t, light reflecting off something, things like that…the only thing we were pretty sure about was that it wasn’t Indians because they were simply too careless, though they could have been young ones.”

 

“I’ve known a lot of Indians in my time and they start teaching them young; when its necessary children so little you wouldn’t think they’d be able to sit still two minutes can sit and barely move for a long time.”

 

“I know,” Beth nodded, “Maggie, Shawn and I knew some of the kids from a local tribe and they were really good hunters because of that; I always had to concentrate on what I was doing or I’d start humming.”

 

“Little songbird,” Daryl teased, tugging her gently up for another kiss as Beth flushed.

 

Their kissing intensified until they were again moving against each other, Beth dragging her center over Daryl’s length a few times before finally maneuvering so that she slid onto him with a satisfied sigh.

 

“Did I mention how much I missed you?” Beth gasped once she was fully seated.

 

“Don’t think you did, Little Bird. Why don’t you show me?”

 

o))O((o


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally make it to the church picnic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm desperately sorry for taking so long to update this work (or any of them, really). I've had some personal stuff going on that's really inhibited my writing. The next chapter is all planned out and I hope to get it out before too much longer. Thank you to everyone still reading and to everyone who has read, commented and left kudos!

Beth was up before dawn the next morning, feeling energized and aroused with Daryl in bed with her and scooted toward the end of the bed.  She was almost at her destination when she heard his raspy morning voice asking “What’re you up to, Little Bird?” then the hitch in his breath as she reached her objective and licked up his length before wrapping her lips around the head of his cock and sliding down.  Even the first time she’d done this, Beth had been amazed at how satisfying she’d found it to hear the noises he’d made and the way he reacted physically to her stimulating him.  She’d been exceptionally aroused and wet the last time and felt herself doing the same this time, especially as Daryl scrabbled with the covers to fling them off so he could watch her and thread his fingers gently into her hair.  The air hitting her skin made her gasp and shiver, her nipples becoming painfully tight as they puckered in the cold and Daryl immediately sat up partway until he could slide his hands under her arms and gently pull up.  She released him reluctantly, sliding her mouth off sensually and giving a last swirl of her tongue just before the head came out of her mouth.

 

As he maneuvered her into position so that he could roll onto her, he slipped a hand between her legs and groaned when he felt how wet and aroused she was, positioning himself and sliding into her as quickly as he could filling her completely and making them both moan.  Although his thrusting felt amazing to Beth and gave her the friction she was craving, her favorite thing was seeing the possessive passion in his eyes as he moved inside her and hearing his breathless words as he helped talk her to completion.  He slid a hand between them, finding her clit with his thumb and stroking over her until she cried out, then kept going as he continued to pump until he came a few moments later, until Beth was nearly crying with the prolonged sensations he’d raised in her.

 

While they’d caught their breath, Daryl rolled off Beth and pulled her onto him so that they could kiss and cuddle, whispering loving words as they lay entwined.  Beth wasn’t even aware when she went back to sleep, but the next time she awoke the room was bright and Daryl was gone.  She dressed carefully, doing up her corsets as best she could though she couldn’t really get them that tight alone and put on a looser top and skirt than she normally wore.  As she neared the kitchen she could smell chili that Carol must have made for later, but it didn’t smell good to her at all as it had the last time Carol made it; instead the smell turned her stomach and she almost ran through the kitchen to the doorway that will take her out to the yard.

 

Carol looked up and waved from the garden where she was working with Sasha, so Beth made her way over, grateful when she no longer felt nauseated or dizzy, but walking carefully nonetheless in case it came back.

 

“Where are all the men?” she asked when she was close enough.  “I thought they were going to stick close to home today.”

 

“Tyreese and Bob are sticking to the ranch today because we may need a man or two The Governor doesn’t know about, but the others decided to go to town.”  Carol replied.  When she caught the disappointment in Beth’s face she added gently, “He said he wanted you to rest while you could and you’d see everyone later this week.”  She looked more closely at Beth and added, “Did you have any breakfast before you came out?”

 

Beth shook her head, even the memory of the smell of the chili making her feel a little green.  “I think I’m still adjusting to the air up here or something…I don’t really want anything.”

 

“What about some tea and toast?” Carol suggested. “You probably shouldn’t work out here without having something.”

 

“I just…I can’t go back in the kitchen right now,” Beth replied gently, shaking her head.

 

Sasha had been silent until then, but when Beth said that she looked up curiously, “That chili making you feel sick?”

 

“Well…a little,” Beth admitted reluctantly, trying not to think about just how bad it had actually smelled to her.

 

With a small head shake at Sasha that Beth caught and filed away, Carol addressed Beth again, “There’s a small table and some chairs on the front porch.  Why don’t you sit there and I’ll bring you that tea and toast?”

 

“May I have some of that wild strawberry jam you have with it?” Beth requested, because whatever else is going on with her appetite she really seemed to have developed a sweet tooth and. if Carol was going to make her eat the toast, the young woman definitely wanted some of the flavorful jam to go with it.

 

“Of course, dear,” Carol replied kindly before motioning to Sasha. “Come on, these baskets are pretty full and we can get started on canning these as soon as I fix Beth’s breakfast.”

 

“I feel like I should help,” Beth worried.

 

“If you feel like it, you can help pick some more after you’ve eaten and drunk something, but I’m not telling Daryl you passed out in the garden because I didn’t fix you anything.”  Carol’s voice is still mild and partly joking, but Beth can definitely see the sense in what the older woman was saying and reluctantly headed toward the front porch, stopping to pick up the last of the skirts for herself that was waiting to be finished along with her needle and thread so that she could work a little while waiting for Carol.

 

As she worked the tiny stitches into the fabric, Beth wondered why Daryl went to town without her and wished that she could have gone.  She remembered Dale asking Daryl to come to town to sign some kind of paperwork at his lawyer’s office and figured that must have been why he’d gone; well, that and the fact that the men hadn’t been to town for a few weeks and probably needed to blow off some steam and get some personal items at the store.  Still, she’d have liked to see Irma while the men were busy and resolved to talk to Daryl about future visits to town.

 

Carol came out with Beth’s breakfast a while later and Beth suddenly found herself hungrier than she’d been in days and ate with relish while Carol sat with her and talked.

 

“Would you like some more?” the gray-haired woman asked once Beth finished the last bite.

 

“I don’t think so,” Beth admitted reluctantly, “I should probably wait and make sure this settles my stomach before I try anything else, but it has already helped my headache.  I think I’ll go work in the garden for a while.”

 

“Sasha and I are getting started on the canning, but just call if you need anything.”

 

After that, the rest of the day passed without incident.  Beth put on her new sunbonnet and worked in the garden for hours, both picking and weeding, until she was overcome with a wave of exhaustion and took what she’d picked to the kitchen door to hand the large basket to Carol, then headed back around to the front porch where she could sit and work on her skirt.  She curled up in a large rocking chair on the porch and sewed until she couldn’t focus on the stitches anymore.  With a promise to herself that she’d get up in just a moment to see what else Carol needed her to do, Beth leaned her head against the chair back and was soon sleeping, not even waking when Daryl carried her to bed after returning from town.

 

o))O((o

 

The next few days were busy with work around the ranch and there didn’t seem to be anything suspicious happening as there had been when there were fewer people at home.  Daryl didn’t tell Beth much about his trip to town other than to say Dale had needed him to come in to sign some papers for the ranch at the lawyer’s office and that the men had needed to blow off some steam.  Beth politely asked him to please let her know the next time he went to town in case she wanted to go and he’d agreed immediately, so they hadn’t discussed it anymore.  The hands and Carol took time off in shifts, the others covering for them to allow each person a full day off to do with as they would, but the remaining people either took guard duty or helped with repairs and reinforcements.

 

Rick stopped by briefly to talk with Daryl and met the new hands, but didn’t stay long, only stopping briefly to tell Beth Lori looked forward to her next visit and hoped it wouldn’t be too far in the future.

 

For her part, Beth stayed as busy as possible and stayed outside as much as she could, away from the smells that pervaded the air in the main parts of the house between meals and canning, after trying once more to be in the kitchen and ending up hanging over the porch rail losing the little she’d managed to eat.  Daryl started bringing her a mug of tea, a scone (which Carol had started making) and some strawberry jam in the mornings after he’d eaten his own breakfast so that she could both sleep a little longer and eat without going to the kitchen.  They were still getting along really well other than an argument about Beth being left off of guard duty, which she actually won, though Daryl made sure she took hers during the day and was in bed with him at night, which Beth simply couldn’t find it in her heart to argue about with Daryl.  She wondered sometimes at how much she craved being with him because no matter how much she’d liked any other boy or man they hadn’t made her feel the way Daryl did all the time.  They were both so busy during the day that often their time in the bedroom was their only alone time where she could get as much touching as she wanted and she was relieved that her husband never denied it to her.

 

o))O((o

 

The morning of the picnic finally dawned with only a few wispy clouds high in the sky and a breeze that helped make the day even better.  The women carefully loaded food, serving items, quilts and other things to make their day more comfortable and they finally left for town, feeling bad that the newest members were staying behind, along with Eugene who thought the idea of meeting a lot of new people at one go daunting and volunteered to stay and help keep an eye on things.  Everyone going was in high spirits, though worried about those staying behind and Beth in particular was looking forward to meeting so many new people and hoped to make some friends.  Having Carol and Sasha around was nice, but she always felt as though both were holding something back around her and she’d had the same sense with Lori, though she’d instantly felt the strongest connection to Rick’s wife and hoped they’d grow closer as they got to spend more time together.

 

Back in her hometown, the Greenes had been well-known and liked thanks to her father’s job, their friendly personalities and the family’s involvement in the church.  At various times each of the children had ridden with their father on his rounds and they’d all been at church and social functions regularly for Beth’s whole life until the war.  The war had claimed many of their friends and their community hadn’t yet started to recover when Beth and Maggie had sold out and left.  In spite of being a rather quiet person by nature who liked to listen to others more than talk herself and often being overshadowed by her outgoing sister and brother, Beth had once had many friends and a busy social life and more than anything else from that old life, she missed her family and friends and was eager to make new ones.

 

She wore her new dark blue dress with the white pattern running throughout the fabric and had braided her hair and twisted it into a heavy knot low on the back of her head, securing it with long pins and decorated a hat to match with a ribbon in a matching blue and some white and blue flowers in the hatband.  Though she didn’t have much jewelry, she wore her rings and a small pair of gold earrings that looked like flowers with blue stones at their centers that her parents had given her years before shortly after her ears had been pierced.  The nausea she’d had that morning had receded and, though she never knew when it would come back, she felt fine when they set out.  Beth and Carol rode in the wagon with Daryl while Abe, Axel and Oscar accompanied them on their own mounts around the wagon.  All of them were alert, but for once as they were traveling Beth’s worry about The Governor took a slight second place to her excitement about the picnic.

 

Beth had jotted notes to herself from her previous times in town in her diary and asked as many questions as she thought of about the people she’d met during the times she’d been working with Carol and the older woman had given her some answers, but hadn’t particularly elaborated about anything.  The only times she’d started asking Daryl questions was at the end of the day when they were in their bedroom and his answers had been brief before he’d gotten her out of her clothes and into bed where she quickly forgot about anyone but her husband.

 

By the time they arrived at the picnic, it was nearly time to eat and they busied themselves carrying things to the long tables of food that had been set up not far from the church building, which were already practically groaning under their loads.  Once the food was settled, Beth soon found herself alone as Daryl and the others went to find their friends or make some new ones, so she asked around until she found some of the women who were organizing things to see if she’d be able to help.

 

Introducing herself as Beth Dixon to a couple women brought on stares and nudges amid the other women, especially the young ones and Beth figured it was normal curiosity among a relatively small, fairly isolated, community, but when she heard Daryl’s name being said with a particularly vicious inflection along with hers, she immediately paid more attention.  She was working with most of the other women to ready the tables and the ones talking either hadn’t seen her or didn’t care if she heard, so they continued their gossip and she caught snatches of the conversation.

 

“…everyone’s known about him and Carol for ages…”

 

“…she has to be after him for the money…”

 

“…so many women here prettier than she is…you _know_ he didn’t actually _see_ her until she was already here…”

 

“…I think she’s pretty…she looks like a princess in a storybook…trust Daryl to like her because of that and not someone with more substance…”

 

“…she’s so young…maybe there’s something wrong with him if he doesn’t want a real woman….”

 

“…he and Carol have been inseparable for years, you know he’s not going to be faithful to anyone else…”

 

“…well, I heard his agreement with Dale was that he had to produce a baby and Carol’s past that…”

 

“…only reason he’d ever leave Carol…”

 

“…I wonder if she’s already…”

 

_Daryl and Carol have both said they’re like brother and sister, but it doesn’t seem like anyone here believes that…I wonder what made them think that way?  What money?  Daryl said he and his brother never had anything and they were drifters.  Surely Dale doesn’t pay that well?  What kind of agreement with Dale and Daryl would include us having children?_

 

Beth’s thoughts were racing as she listened to the bitter conversation among the other women.  Nobody was addressing her directly, including the women to whom Beth had introduced herself, but they were definitely watching for a reaction from her.  She deliberately kept her face relaxed and smiled as though she hadn’t heard the malicious words or the tones in which they’d been said. Out of the corners of her eyes she caught some of the women nudging the gossiping ones and gesturing toward her with heads or elbows, but the gossip continued without them addressing her directly.  When she tried to engage other women in conversation she was frozen out, so simply worked quietly as she continued to hear more gossip about them, all much along the same lines (even if some things directly contradicted what someone had just said) as what she’d already heard.

 

The happy fantasies she’d had for weeks about quickly making new friends and becoming part of a loving community like the one in which she’d grown up had fallen apart in less than an hour.  While she didn’t believe the gossip about Daryl and Carol and refused to be devastated by the rejection from people she didn’t even know and who certainly didn’t know her, she now knew there were things going on that she really didn’t understand.  There had been hints dropped in various conversations about an agreement between Dale and Daryl and then the mysterious papers that Daryl had come into town to sign without her and, together with some of the gossip, she wondered if it didn’t have to do with some kind of inheritance that Daryl would receive from Dale that seemed to be tied to Daryl being married.  Beth had overheard Carol teasing Daryl on several occasions about the fact that he hadn’t particularly wanted to get married and how he still seemed surprised to even like Beth and for the first time Beth saw past the teasing and realized Daryl genuinely hadn’t wanted to be married at all.

 

A couple of the women had said they’d heard part of whatever the agreement was between the men that  it involved Daryl having a baby...an _heir_?  Why would Dale care whether or not Daryl married and produced an heir?  That wasn’t any part of a foreman’s job where she was from and she doubted it was different in Montana.  Had Dale somehow made Daryl his heir?

 

What if the sickness she’d been feeling wasn’t due to trying to adjust to Montana, her new schedule and heavier food?  What if she was pregnant?  She’d never known a woman who got sick at random times of day from pregnancy; she’d always heard it called morning sickness, but she figured it wouldn’t be impossible.  Daryl hadn’t gone to sign the papers until after Beth had started getting sick and having the sudden bouts of tiredness.  He’d been as attentive as ever toward her physically, whatever the case, but what if all he’d been doing was trying to ensure she had a baby?

 

Surely she couldn’t be so mistaken about Daryl’s feelings toward her?

 

Once all the dishes were positioned to the organizers’ satisfaction and all the dishes had serving spoons and forks, some of the women went to help children through the line as the men queued up first.  Even though she saw Daryl and the other men in line and Carol spreading the quilts they’d brought so that their group could sit comfortably and eat, Beth didn’t feel like eating by that point, though the queasiness she felt seemed unrelated to the problems she’d been having for days.  Tiredly, she made her way back the wagon, pulled her parasol from under the seat and patted the horses for a moment to give herself some time to think.  The horses stood quietly, patiently dozing in the sun and it was soothing to pet them for a moment while she thought.

 

She’d read and re-read Daryl’s letters to the point that she could recall them easily and quickly went through them again in her head as she stood.  There had definitely not been any mention of him being Dale’s heir or having to get married.  Irma had mentioned that she and Dale had encouraged Daryl to marry, but hadn’t said anything specific.  If Daryl was the Hovarths’ heir to any or all of their property, then that would mean he’d deliberately withheld that information from Beth, both before and after they’d married.

 

Even after he’d lectured her about trusting him and insisted on her being open with him.

 

The nausea was definitely getting worse.

 

It didn’t matter, though…she had to go back and sit on those quilts with her husband and their people and act as though they were okay.  Taking a moment to get her parasol was okay, but after the way the other women had talked about her and treated her, especially when she’d done absolutely nothing to deserve it, it was unacceptable to her to simply turn tail and hide from them.  She thought about her sister, Maggie, who was not only so much taller and more athletic than Beth, but also fierce.  Maggie would never have backed down from those women or simply sat and gathered information as Beth was wont to do; she’d have cut those women off at the knees for talking about her or her loved ones that way.  Beth wasn’t Maggie and was happy with the way she was, but there wasn’t any way she was going to let Maggie or herself down by hiding or being a doormat for anyone.

 

She wasn’t going to make a scene, but she determined then and there that anyone who confronted her directly was going to soon learn not to mess with a Greene girl.

 

Dixon?

 

No…married or not, she’d always be a Greene on the inside and proud of it.  She was a strong, good person who’d done what she’d done out of love.  She’d faced down The Governor and his men…she could deal with a bunch of nasty women at a church picnic.

 

When she reached their quilts she sat next to Daryl, who eyed her lack of food with concern, but she simply smiled and engaged them all in conversation as they ate.  Daryl asked if she was okay and when she nodded with a small smile, he moved his plate toward her so that she could pick if she wanted to and she hesitantly took half a dinner roll he had left and picked off little pieces to eat as they all talked.  Dale and Irma had joined the others from the ranch, as had Rick and his son. Carl, so Beth eagerly greeted them all and the conversation in their group was lively.  Beth simply ignored the looks and nudges from other people and also pushed aside her insecurities about the other people in their group and determined to enjoy the day as much as possible.

 

She was going to talk to both Daryl and Carol later, because whatever was going on it was obvious many people knew (or thought they did) things about herself and her marriage that she’d been kept ignorant of by those she’d trusted and that was simply unacceptable to her.  If any of what she’d heard or inferred was true and they’d left her ignorant at all, but especially to come and face a number of people who apparently knew, they’d basically made her into a joke to the town.  Shawn had been a prankster, especially as a child, and Beth had helped her much-admired big brother in a couple harmless pranks until the time she’d been the butt of one of his jokes in a very public and humiliating way.  It had taken years among people who knew and loved her for someone not to bring it up at nearly every gathering and bring that feeling of humiliation back to her and these people neither knew nor loved her.

 

The thought made her cringe inside.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens after the picnic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N – Several friends of mine have recently had the experience of having their works copied and used by other people or other sites and, overall, around 30 writers that I know of have had this same experience in the time I’ve been writing FF. While the characters in this case belong to The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman and his company as well as AMC, please know that I and others work very hard to come up with original situations or ideas and write fan fiction for pure enjoyment. We put our hearts and souls into our works and put them out for others to enjoy, usually without any benefit to ourselves other than the sheer joy of writing. We aren’t putting them out for others to copy or try to use for their own gain, whether personal or financial. Please be respectful and do not claim someone else’s work or ideas as your own. If you think a fic has been abandoned and you really want to take it over, some authors will give that permission; but if you haven’t checked in with the author, please assume you do not have permission to use their works in your own name.

The rest of the picnic was torturous for Beth who made an effort to be sociable even though she didn’t want to at all. Nearly every time she left the people in her group she heard nasty things murmured about herself or Daryl and, even with the others, she was all too conscious of the nudges and people talking behind their hands or fans.  Several times she caught one of the others in their group glaring at someone who looked a little too long or pointedly, but nobody said anything to her.

 

There were some people Beth recognized as being a few of the Governor’s men at the picnic, but they caused no trouble though the young blonde almost wished they would so that she and her people would have an excuse to leave. By the time they got to pack up their things and head back, following Dale and Irma back to town to help them unload their own wagon she was feeling quite ill between the tension clenching her stomach and the headache that hadn’t let up.

 

Deciding not to wait another minute, once they were all in the Hovarth’s living quarters, Beth asked that Abe, Axel and Oscar excuse the rest of them while she talked to them for a few minutes and the hands complied. The tension in the apartment was palpable as Carol asked if she should go with the men and Beth asked her to stay as she had some things to ask of them all.  Only Irma seemed confused about what Beth could want, but seemed to notice the anxiety of the others.

 

“I heard some interesting things at the picnic today and I need to ask you all about them,” Beth started, after drawing a stabilizing breath.

 

Daryl looked guilty and tense and Beth could feel that he was ready to explode given the slightest provocation. In contrast, Carol and Dale looked friendly and open while Irma still looked normal, if curious.

 

The young woman looked first at her husband before moving around the room. “You told me only that you’re the manager at the ranch and yet when we were at the picnic, other women were talking as though you’re Dale’s heir.  They talked about the ranch as though you owned it and as though you’re going to inherit from Dale and Irma.”

 

When Daryl didn’t immediately reply, Dale answered the young blonde, “Our sons both went back East before the war; our older son went to West Point and our younger son went into business. The younger one, Bill, he died in the street, run over by a carriage when he dashed out to push a child out of its way.  Our first son, Sam, he died in the war, killed at Gettysburg.  Daryl here has been like another son to us since we met him.  He helped save our store when there were some troublemakers in town a while back and he’s cared for that ranch as if it were his own and treated us like family in the process.”

 

Dale paused for a moment and Irma stepped in, “Our siblings are successful and have plenty to leave their own children, so we decided to leave our things to Daryl. He truly has been like another son to us and he deserves all the good things in life.”  She smiled warmly, looking into Daryl’s eyes as she squeezed Dale’s hand.

 

“Did you stipulate he had to get married?” Beth asked curiously, remembering other parts of the conversation.

 

“Yeah,” Daryl answered, his voice was husky with emotion, but he also sounded frustrated. “Word got around and all of  sudden women who’d never given me the time of day were talking to me, bringing food to the ranch, inviting me to lunch like I wasn’t the same guy who’d they’d cross the street to avoid just a week earlier.”  He shrugged and looked down, “I couldn’t stand it.  Most of them seemed to forget that just a few days before they’d been calling me trash just loud enough for me to hear.”

 

“Many of the women at the picnic seemed to think I was interfering with a relationship between you and Carol….”

 

Carol shook her head at that, “Daryl’s like my little brother…maybe even a son.” She straightened as she looked at Beth, “I met Merle and Daryl when we were all traveling together when we came West back when Ed and Sophia were still alive.  After Ed died, they helped protect us from some of the other men and they helped me through after Sophia died.  Daryl’s family to me, but not in the way a husband should be.”  With another shake of her head she added, “Some people are determined to misinterpret everything, like when I’ve taken Daryl’s arm when there’s been ice or mud or we’ve gone to things together, but it’s nothing more than I would have done with any family member.”

 

Beth looked at her husband, “You feel the same way, don’t you?”

 

“I do,” Daryl said, looking embarrassed. “She may not want to hear it, but Carol’s been more of a mother to me than my own mother was; I think if I’d had an older sister she would have been a lot like her.”

 

Dale looked wry, “We may have contributed all the problems with the women here.” He shuffled his feet and looked at his wife with a little grin, “We think highly of Daryl, he’s a very fine man, but he’s shy you know.”

 

Beth nodded and Irma took up the tale with a look of sympathy at the younger woman before she put her hands on her hips and glared at the others. “You would have saved us all so much trouble if you’d just told her all this before!”  She went on in a softer tone, addressing Beth, “We all noticed the change in attitude of the women here; they weren’t exactly subtle, and Daryl didn’t like it.”

 

“Treated me like dirt on their shoes before that…” Daryl muttered angrily.

 

“I suggested he put an advertisement in a couple papers back East,” Dale added, taking up the story again. “He was originally from Georgia and your local paper was one of the ones he picked.  It was an opportunity to meet women who didn’t know about the ranch or the store.”

 

“I was going to tell you,” Daryl said quietly. “At first I didn’t because I wanted to make sure we got on and then it never seemed like the right time to tell you.”  He glanced up at her under his brows, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before now.”

 

“Was there something in the agreement about children?” Beth asked stonily. “Someone said something about you needing an heir.”

 

Dale and Daryl both flushed and Irma jumped in, “We talked about it, but we didn’t hold him to it in the end.”

 

“But you waited until you already suspected I was pregnant,” Beth said unhappily.

 

Daryl looked frustrated, “You’ve seen how busy we’ve been; it was just coincidence we didn’t get to go until after you’d started getting sick.”

 

“You do not get to be cross at me right now, Daryl,” Beth said quietly, crossing her arms.  She scanned the room, looking at each of them, “I appreciate you all answering my questions.  We’ve probably left the others alone long enough and we should be going.”

 

Good-byes were restrained on all their parts, but when Beth got to Irma the older woman drew the young blonde aside and clasped her hands tightly. “Try not to stay angry with Daryl, honey.  He’s had a hard life and it isn’t easy for him to trust anyone…he needed to know you loved him for him.”

 

Beth’s face softened as she looked at the older woman, “I know that about him, but by not trusting me he made me a laughingstock to people in this town and it hurts that he didn’t trust me. We’ve been married for weeks and he could have told me at any time.”

 

Irma looked at her sympathetically, “Well, you’re the only one who can decide if you can trust him again, but I hope you can. Just think about it and talk to him.”  As they stepped away from each other she added in a louder voice for the others to hear, “If you have any other questions for us, just let us know and we’ll be happy to answer them.”

 

o))O((o

 

The rest of the ride back to the ranch seemed to drag to Beth and she was relieved when they finally pulled up in the yard at the house. She’d mostly let the conversation flow around her, participating only when asked a direct question.

 

When they arrived back at the ranch, they discovered that The Governor himself had been there not long after Daryl and the others had left along with a couple of his men and that Sasha and the men had sent them packing, Tyreese dealing with the overbearing and unpredictable man while the others remained hidden. There had been some gun play with Bob grazing Martinez’ head while Sasha had put a bullet through one of Shumpert’s shoulders, effectively putting the large man out of commission and The Governor had left after issuing some threats of returning.  Since they hadn’t seen Philip Blake with his men in town or on their way back, Daryl paired with Tyreese while Abe and Oscar stayed on horseback to ensure that nobody was still on the property while Carol and Beth went inside with Sasha to start supper.

 

Beth helped with supper, grateful that her nausea remained at bay and tentatively hoping that it was starting to improve. She was still quiet as the other women talked, thinking about everything that had happened that day and trying to wrap her mind around it all.  When the preparations were done and the fresh pan of stew with dumplings was baking she quietly went to the bedroom she shared with Daryl and pulled out the small pile of letters she’d received from him after she’d answered his advertisement and sat in a chair near one of the windows to read them over again.

 

In them, he spoke very little about his past or his family, only stating that he had no living family. He’d written fondly about Dale and Irma and lovingly about the beauty of the ranch and told some funny stories about life there and things the animals had done or funny stories with the men.  Not once had he hinted he was anything more than a happy employee at the Rocking H with a great deal of affection for the Hovarths.  His humor and love of beauty and nature had come through plainly in the letters, but he’d told very little about his life other than that he wanted someone to share it with since he didn’t have any family.

 

The sound of the triangle clanging to bring the others in for supper elicited a sigh from her and she carefully folded the letters back into their envelopes and tied the ribbon back around them that held them together. She was still hurt and angry about everything that had happened, but she hadn’t been lying to Daryl when she’d told him she loved him and she wasn’t ready to throw aside her marriage just yet.

 

It was late when Daryl came to bed that night and Beth couldn’t help but suspect that he was hoping to avoid any kind of confrontation with her judging from the cautious way he entered their bedroom. She’d read back through some of her journal entries and had written down the events of that day, helping her organize her thoughts and work through some of her emotions.

 

As he sat on the edge of the bed with his back to her removing his socks and shoes, Daryl suddenly said, “I didn’t realize how nasty some of those cats in town would be or I’d definitely have told you ahead of time.” His shoulders hunched defensively as he bent over, resting his elbows on his legs, “I know I should have told you anyway and I’m really sorry, Beth.”

 

“You were so firm with me trusting you over _shoes_ , Daryl.  I wish you could have told me about this well before now.  We married on my first day here; it wasn’t like I was holding out hoping for someone better to come along or demanding you change your life as a condition of marrying you.”  She waited until he’d turned to meet her eyes before adding, “The hands and Carol have all known, haven’t they?  I think Carol even told Sasha and the new men.”

 

Daryl nodded in confirmation before looking back down at his hands and saying, “You don’t know what it was like for me here, Beth. Merle and the guys he’d been running with, they weren’t good men and it seemed like everyone in town knew the name of Dixon before I ever got here.  Dale, Irma, Rick and Lori were the only ones who gave me the time of day and I could barely believe it when Dale offered me a job or when Rick didn’t just throw me in jail when I got in a fight.”  His voice was angry now and he practically spat out the next words, “The women around here, they acted like I was a mad dog or something until they found out about Dale leaving me everything and all of a sudden it was ‘Mister Dixon’ this or ‘Mister Dixon’ that like they hadn’t given me the time of day before then.”

 

“I wasn’t one of those women, Daryl,” Beth replied quietly. “I deserved better than that from you.”  She picked at the top quilt for a moment as they sat in silence.

 

“I’m real sorry, Beth,” Daryl said softly. “I know I should have told you.”  He looked back at her, his face plainly showing his worry, “You think you can forgive me?”

 

Beth sighed and looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes again, “Is there anything else like that you need to tell me?”

 

“I’ve done lots of things, Beth. Growing up the way I did and running with Merle?  Those women were right to be cautious.  Hell, if you were with me I’d probably cross the street myself to keep you away from someone with a reputation like the one I used to have.”

 

“Those same people seem accepting enough of Blake and his men and they may shower regularly and wear nice clothes and look like gentlemen, but they’re the ones I’d cross the street to avoid, which I’d never have done with you.”

 

“You would have, Beth…if your daddy was still alive he’d have made sure of it.”

 

She snapped a little in frustration, “If you really feel that way, then why are you so angry with them?”

 

“Because they were fine with me as soon as they knew I’d have money! It didn’t change who I was, but all of a sudden they didn’t care anymore.”

 

“People are mostly like that, Daryl. My family wasn’t rich compared to some; our farm was hardly a plantation and nobody in my family’s ever owned a slave, but we were better off than others.  We went to church almost any time the doors were open, we did charity work and helped out anyone we could, but after the war everyone was struggling and the troops took our crops and killed nearly all our animals and Papa died.  Then, Maggie…”  Beth paused and drew a big breath, “Maggie married a Korean man and all of a sudden some of the people we’d grown up with changed toward us even though we hadn’t changed at all.”

 

“People are just assholes” Daryl said grumpily. “How’d Glenn get his name if he’s Korean…that’s like a Chinaman, right?”

 

Beth snorted delicately, “He wouldn’t agree with that at all.” She grinned in relief at Daryl’s easy acceptance and thinking of her brother-in-law, “Glenn’s family’s been in Michigan for years and there was a man named Glenn who helped them get settled there when they arrived from New York, so when Glenn was born they named him for their friend.”  Shyly holding out a hand to her husband she added, “I was a little worried about telling you…they’ve encountered a lot of prejudice.”

 

Daryl gave her a small grin as he took her hand and teased, “You holding back any other secrets from me?”

 

“Just my three children I’m hiding in that huge closet,” she deadpanned before her face broke into an easy smile.

 

“Thank God,” Daryl laughed in relief before his face grew thoughtful. “Is Maggie happy in Michigan?”

 

“I haven’t heard from her since they should have gotten there. I wrote her letters as I traveled and posted them when I could, but she hasn’t responded yet.”

 

“If she’s not, do you want to ask if they want to come here? I know there are some people who won’t be happy about their marriage wherever they go, but we can use good people here and your sister’s the only family you have left.”

 

Beth gave a little squeal and flung herself at him to hug him before drawing back and saying, “She’s not my only family, Daryl. We have each other and maybe…” she touched her belly gently as Daryl settled a hand over hers.

 

They talked for a while about the possibility of the baby and more about some things from Daryl’s past before getting ready for bed and blowing out the lamp.

o))O((o

 

A/N #2 - Hope you all are having  safe and happy holiday season.  See you in 2016!


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trouble comes visiting at the ranch

**A/N 1 – Several friends of mine have had the experience of having their works copied and used by other people on this site and others, including ones that charge people to download their works and, overall, around 30 writers that I know of have had this same experience in the time I’ve been writing FF.  While the characters in this case belong to The Walking Dead, Robert Kirkman and his company as well as AMC, please know that I and others work very hard to come up with original situations or ideas and write fan fiction for pure enjoyment.  We put our hearts and souls into our works and put them out for others to enjoy, usually without any benefit to ourselves other than the sheer joy of writing.  We aren’t putting them out for others to copy and try to use for their own gain, whether personal or financial.  Please be respectful and do not claim someone else’s work or ideas as your own.  If you think a fic has been abandoned and you really want to take it over, some authors will give that permission; but if you haven’t checked in with the author, please assume you do not have permission to use their works in your own name.**

**A/N 2 - It’s hard to believe that it’s been so long since I posted!  I’ve thought about detailing everything that’s been happening and how many times I’ve written and re-written this chapter because I was unhappy with it.  Originally it was going to be the last chapter of this story, but it kept not working and I finally threw out the rule book and am just going to let it be as long as it wants.  My intention after finishing this one is then to finish up all but 1 other open story and then maybe circle back around to this world to write about their further adventures, because I already have at least one other story in this universe in mind.  If you’re still out there, thank you so much for sticking with me and reading!   Thank you so much for all your sweet comments about this story and your encouragement for me to keep going to the end.**

 

**

Just two days later Beth awoke well before dawn, nibbled a couple dry crackers and sipped some plain water before snuggling back into Daryl’s side.   Nearly an hour later, she was pleasantly surprised to awake feeling well and not at all nauseated and felt Daryl awake next to her.  With a pleased noise she gently drew his face toward hers and kissed him warmly, drawing a rumble from deep in his chest as he moved to get both his arms around her and draw her closer before shifting her on top of him and pulling her nightgown off over her head.  When she shivered in the cool morning air, he immediately wrapped his arms around her torso and drew her down before gently rolling on top of her.

 

“This all right?” he grunted softly.

 

“Oh, yes,” Beth breathed into his mouth before moving to kiss and nibble down his neck.

 

“No, you don’t,” Daryl grinned at her and promptly took control, working his way down her body to worship each of her small breasts in turn before moving down her body.  After reaching her lower belly, though, he switched and sat up on his knees, giving her a clear view of his raging erection, but instead of covering her again and thrusting home, he grabbed one of her delicate ankles and brought it to his mouth to kiss and lick it as he started to work his way up her leg.  Again, he was almost at the apex of her thighs and she was squirming eagerly under him when he reversed and started on her other leg, using lips, teeth and tongue to maximum effect while she gasped and moaned and murmured how beautiful he was to her, how much she loved him and how happy she was she’d come.

 

She said that last just as he’d reached the top of her thigh again and Daryl looked up, flashing a grin that was pure sin and growled at her “Ain’t come yet, but you’re gonna” before finally, finally, lowering his face to her center, pushing her legs up and out to the sides and licking a long stripe from her hole to her clit that made her shudder so hard she almost came right then before he did it again.

 

Using a similar technique to what he’d used on her legs, he worked at her thoroughly before inserting first one then two fingers until she was dripping down his hand and making needy little moans almost constantly.  When she started panting, “So close, Daryl…I need to come…please, honey,” he finally latched on to her clit and sucked hard twice and she came apart around him, shuddering and gasping with pleasure.  Tremors were still running through her when he again covered her body with his and thrust into her as she wrapped her legs around him with a groan as she stretched around him.

 

He waited only a second for her to adjust before pulling almost all the way out and driving in up to his hilt again before repeating the motion several more times before Beth gave an impatient grunt and flipped them over, surprisingly strong for such a slight woman.  Settling herself on him and bracing her hands on his chest she started rocking with intense concentration, looking into his eyes and smiling before he took over her litany of love, rumbling out everything he loved about her, all the time letting his eyes tell her more than his words ever would as hers did the same for him.

 

When he was close, he reached down and flicked at the sensitive bundle of nerves between her legs until her eyes rolled up and closed, she gasped and shook once more as her walls clenched around him and he came with his own pleasured groan as she collapsed forward on his chest, grinning at him as he cuddled her close.

 

“I hope I feel this good in the mornings from now on,” Beth said quietly as she ran her fingers over his chest and went in for one last kiss before rolling off, knowing that it was time for them to get up.

 

“Me too,” Daryl replied with another heart-stopping grin, “but it’ll be okay if you don’t.”  He stood up, poured some of the water from the pitcher into the washing bowl and started to clean up as he added, “We’ll have to get you to see the doc before much longer…make sure everything’s okay.”

 

“I feel pretty well most of the time,” Beth said, standing as well after Daryl had dumped his dirty water into the slop bucket and poured more clean water in the bowl for her.  “Carol’s helping so much,” she added.  “She almost treats me like Maggie does...those two would really get along well.”

 

“We’ll post that letter asking if they want to come next time we’re in town and then maybe we’ll find out.”

 

o))O((o

 

It wasn’t long after breakfast when they were out in the yard saddling up and getting ready for the day that they saw several people on horseback, some riding double, heading over one of the hills and Daryl sent Beth scurrying back onto the porch to retrieve a rifle and get behind one of the pillars while the others took their positions around the house and yard.  When the visitors drew close enough that they could be identified as William and Ella Peterson, young neighbors from one of the spreads down past Rick and Lori Grimes’ place, and their foreman, Leo Casey, as well as two other people Beth didn’t recognize.  Daryl signaled to the others to stay alert and keep ready before he and Abe rode out with an extra horse to get their struggling neighbors.

 

“Governor and his men hit two of our neighbors early yesterday, the Prewitts and the Leshers, both of them smaller spreads like ours,” William Peterson said as they gathered around once everyone was back in the yard.  “No extra hands this time of year, same as us.  Most of the Leshers ended up at the Prewitts’ place before they saw the dust from the Governor coming and got out of there.  Young John and Bess here came to our place of them came to our place along with their father, Roy, and the others headed for the next town over or other ranches to try to get help.  Roy Prewitt barely said what had happened and gotten a warning out when a shot took him down right in front of Ella.”  William shook his head and ran a hand through his curly black hair in frustration.

 

Leo took up the tale.  “Bastards…sorry ladies…kept shooting at us and then one of them rode close enough to throw a bottle with a lit rag in it through a window.  The curtains caught fire right away and it looked like the rest of the room was going up pretty quickly, but we had to keep riding to get away.  We had more horses when we started out, but they shot one in the flank and he went too lame after a while, then the mare’s knee got hurt and we had to let her go too.”

 

“If they wanted to take the ranch, they should have left the house instead of trying to build another one,” Eugene commented.  “It doesn’t make sense.”

 

“They aren’t interested in just having a small spread like ours,” William snorted.  “That Governor wants it all for himself.  One time or another, he’s offered to buy all of us out at about a quarter of what all the land and houses are worth and he’s pushing to buy out everyone in town who has a growing business.  Most people have refused, so far, and at first he seemed to accept it, but now it’s all changing and he’s getting impatient.  I don’t think he means to leave a lot of witnesses.”

 

John Prewitt spoke up when William Peterson paused.  “We don’t even know if anyone else from our home survived.  They’d already killed off more than half our hands and I only saw our mother and brother get away with one of the surviving hands, but they were going in the opposite direction.  There’s no telling if they made it or not.”

 

“What would he even do with all these ranches and farms, much less a whole town even if he can buy it all?  He and his men don’t seem like ranchers or businessmen so much as gun slingers and bullies.  Even The Governor comes across as a politician, instead of someone who really spends a lot of time running that bar he has,” Carol commented as she poured some more coffee for the newcomers.

 

“He doesn’t run that,” Leo Casey guffawed roughly.  “He bought out the madame who ran the old place, back when it was just a bar and brothel.  He changed the name and it’s nicer on the surface, but the woman’s still there and runs her girls out of the rooms upstairs.  She said he takes about eighty-five percent of their profits to let her and her girls stay and keep working there.”

 

“Why wouldn’t she just leave?”  Daryl asked.  “It sounds like she should have just gone somewhere new and started over again.”

 

The old foreman shrugged and replied, “Starting over again ain’t easy.  She’s good at her job, cares about her girls, cares about her bar and runs it clean and the men around here know that and don’t give her trouble.  Only trouble she’s had came from The Governor’s men and when she went to him he took care of it and nobody messes with his bouncers…girls don’t get treated that well everywhere.”

 

“So, what, he wants to be like a king or something?  Own a town where everyone works for him, own all the land and animals and have people work what once was their land for nothing?  Why would people even do that?”  In spite of Daryl’s voice still being soft it had gone angry and rough and the others could tell he was affected by what had been happening to his friends and neighbors.

 

“If he buys the businesses in town he takes over the debts,” Carol said suddenly.  “Places like Dale and Irma’s store, the lumber yard, even the seamstress and I bet he’d charge interest and try to make people work for him to pay it off.  He’d talk about it like he wanted to help and some folks around here are good people, they’d want to pay off their debts.”

 

“It would be like the tenement farms back East,” Beth added.  “Most of those are done away with now, but people have been on those for generations trying to pay off debts they can’t ever get rid of because they have to have new things for themselves or their farms.  In spite of everything they pay, the owners don’t ever seem to credit the farmers with enough to pay off even a good portion of their debt.  It’s just another kind of slavery most folks don’t complain about, unless it happens to them.”

 

“Lincoln’s left nut!” Abraham injected.  “He’s got people that cowed?  There are some good folks around here who should be fighting for their lives.”

 

William spoke up again, “You haven’t been to town since the picnic, have you?  He’s got men everywhere right now.  They walked into a church service and insisted on a chance to speak, then talked about folks selling out to them, whether they had a business or a spread.  Most folks refused flat-out and the Governor and his men all seemed to accept it, but he keeps bringing in more known gun slingers and even if they don’t say anything to you, they stand around and stare and try to intimidate folks.  It works, too.  No woman or child goes out alone anymore and even most of the men go out in pairs.”  He looked Daryl in the eye before adding, “They’re coming down hard on the Hovarths – got men in their place all the time now when the doors are open, not buying anything, not talking much at all, but people don’t come in to shop so much anymore and some of their deliveries haven’t made it in on time, so their stock’s running low.”

 

Daryl shook his head, cursing softly before taking a deep breath, “I’ve got to go and check on them, maybe bring them here.”  He looked at Beth as though for support.

 

“Of course you do,” his wife replied staunchly.  “I’ll go with you, we can act like we’re just taking them out for the day and then bring them back here.  If things are that bad, they won’t be too busy anyway.”

 

“If they leave their business, the Governor may just try to take it over,” Carol said worriedly.  “Without Dale and Irma there, who’s to say Philip Blake didn’t pay them a fair amount to take over their business?”

 

“We don’t get them out now and Dale and Irma might not be around to speak up,” Daryl replied.  “Getting them out and having them safe is more important than them keeping the store open.  If they bring all their paperwork, they can prove they didn’t sell off their business and leave the Governor without details on suppliers or anything.”

 

“If we can reach one of the forts, they can send troops to stop what’s happening here…maybe we can reach out to the Rangers or someone to try to get some law out this way or hire someone,” Tyreese chimed in.

 

Abraham shook his head, “Problem is, what he’s doing right now?  It ain’t illegal.  He takes over someone’s business without buying it?  That’s illegal, especially if Dale and Irma leave a sign that they will be reopening soon, but if they just leave he can claim he took it over for the good of the town, or he can start his own store, offer their suppliers more, stop or slow their shipments and their business will die out.  So far, he hasn’t left a lot of evidence behind him that people can point to and prove that he’s intimidated anyone.  Even hiring gun slingers isn’t illegal…if it was, some of us wouldn’t have ever had a job.”

 

They were all thoughtful for a moment, before Daryl shook himself, “I’ve got to go to town.  Beth, I need you to stay here, but William and Abe, if you’d come with me, I’d be obliged.”

 

Beth frowned at Daryl while the others agreed, then asked if she could speak with him separately before he left.

 

“I want to go with you,” the little blonde said stubbornly.  “I know Abe, but William’s little better than a stranger and I don’t want you going without me.  We’re in this together.”

 

Daryl shook his head, “You can’t come with me, Beth.  Anything happens to you and I don’t know what I’d do.  We’ve been thinking you’re pregnant and if you are, you’ve got to think about our baby too.”

 

“Our child’s going to need their father,” Beth said, reluctant to back off from the issue.  “Especially if it’s a boy, he’s going to need you to show him how to be a good man.”

 

“I’m not that good, Beth.  I want to be, but I just ain’t,” Daryl admitted, lifting his hands as though to keep some distance between them.  “You and the kid would probably be better off with someone else.”

 

Beth took one of Daryl’s hands on her smaller one and drew his hand to her lips, kissing his knuckles gently, “You’re one of the best men I know, Daryl Dixon, and I can’t imagine anyone better to be the father of my children.”  She smiled up at him brilliantly, unshed tears in her eyes as she looked at him.

 

“Well, I ain’t giving you up while I’m alive, so nobody else is going to get that chance,” he said, voice rough before he swallowed back his own emotion.  “I need to know you’re safe so I can do what I need to do to help Dale and Irma.”  When Beth nodded reluctantly he added, “I need you here to make sure I don’t ruin our kid – whatever you say, I only know how I was raised and I’m pretty sure I’m going to do things wrong.”

 

“I’ll help as much as I can, but I’m not perfect either, Daryl, so I need you too,” she allowed him to draw her close and tucked her face against his chest, drawing in a deep breath of his scent.  “Besides, you’re wrong that you only know how you were raised…you’ve seen people raised better and you know Rick who’s raising his family differently.  You’ll probably help me as much as I’ll help you.”

 

“We’ll be back as soon as we can, okay?”  Daryl’s face reflected his relief when Beth nodded against his chest and he drew another deep breath before adding, “You’re wrong about something too, though.”  When Beth looked up at him with a small frown between her eyes, he finished, “You’re perfect to me.”

 

Their kiss was intense, but brief before Daryl headed back into the kitchen, grabbed his hat and headed for the door with the other men while Beth went to help Carol get packs ready for the men to take with them.

 

o))O((o

 

Beth tried not to be impatient.  It took some time to get to and from town, even on horseback without a wagon or buggy and she knew at the least the mission for the men to gather information and try to get Dale and Irma out of town could very well mean they’d all be back after dark, though she was hoping it wouldn’t be that late.  She stayed busy, along with everyone else, setting up a watch and figuring out ways to defend the ranch when The Governor’s men came after them.  They set up some blinds in strategic positions, such as the roof of the ranch house as well as creating a stand up in the upper section of the windmill where one or two men could sit or lie down to keep watch while not being too terribly far away from the house and barns.

 

She helped Carol fix hardtack and make packs for all of them including the dried bread along with jerky and small amounts of coffee and a small can or pan each so that everyone could have something in case they had to run.  She packed a few pieces of clothing for herself and Daryl as well, just in case and knew Carol and the others had done the same.  They made sure all the weapons were loaded and extra ammunition was nearby, or in their pockets for the guns they were keeping with them.  Beth and Carol made food and everyone came and ate in shifts while making sure people stayed on watch the whole time, the women doing their part while the men ate and vice versa.  No matter how hard she worked, though, Beth couldn’t shake the feeling that something had gone wrong somehow and that Daryl was in trouble.

 

The feeling only increased as it grew dark without a sign of anyone returning and Beth couldn’t settle to go to sleep.  Eventually she put together a kit with bandages, a small bottle of alcohol and other items for medical emergencies, some food, extra ammunition and an extra set of clothing for Daryl just in case and changed into a pair of pants and shirt that she and Carol had made and strapped on a gun belt with the six-shooter she’d been carrying as well as a sheath with her knife.  On an impulse she went into the chest she’d brought from home and opened a hidden compartment to pull out a little derringer in a special holster that her father had given her years before and strapped it to her arm to be hidden under her loose sleeve and made sure she could get it out from under her cuff, just in case.  She’d reached the kitchen when she saw Carol sitting at the table with her own pack, also dressed in loose men’s pants, shirt and jacket.

 

“I was wondering what was taking you so long,” the older woman said with a grim smile.  “I could tell you’ve been feeling it too, that something’s gone wrong.”

 

Nodding, Beth replied, “For hours now.  Even if we meet them coming back and Daryl’s angry, I think we need to go.”

 

There was a warning shouted outside and Beth and Carol left their packs and took their rifles outside with them.  A woman was walking into the yard, her clothing stained and her dusky skin covered in sweat.  She carried a pack in one hand that was instantly recognizable as Daryl’s due to the red bandana tied to one of the loops on it.  She held up her hands as the people from the ranch approached her, a cautious look on her face, even as her dark eyes focused on Beth.

 

The strange woman’s voice was quiet and husky when she spoke, addressing the young blonde, “You’re Dixon’s wife?”

 

“I am,” Beth confirmed.  “Where is he?  What’s happened?  Why do you have his pack?”

 

“He tried to get Hovarths out of town and The Governor took him and the men with him.  They’re holding them in one of the rooms at The Capitol Bar.”  The woman swayed a little as she talked, her tiredness evident.

 

The Peterson’s foreman, Leo Casey, spoke up nearby, “Mrs. Dixon, I’d like to present to you Miss Michonne, the former proprietress of The Capitol Bar and current madam of the place.”

 

Beth nodded her thanks to the foreman and addressed the strange woman once more, “I’d say it’s a pleasure, but obviously something’s wrong or you wouldn’t be here.”  When the woman swayed slightly again, the blonde added quickly, “Come on inside, Miss Michonne.  I’m sure you’re thirsty if you’ve walked from town.”

 

The woman nodded quickly in thanks and started to follow Beth toward the house, some of the others falling in behind her while the rest went to keep watch or try to get some sleep.  Quietly the madam said, “Walking was the only way I could leave…me taking a horse was too obvious, but me taking a walk isn’t that unusual and I’ve been known on rare occasions to visit some of the single gentlemen in the area, so I can be gone for hours at night at times and nobody questions it.”

 

Carol said curiously, “I thought one of the advantages of being the madam was that you never had to do that kind of thing anymore.”

 

Michonne shrugged, “It means I have a reason to leave sometimes that nobody questions and that’s good when you have someone like The Governor having his men watch over you.  You survive as long as I have in my business and you learn to recognize people who’ve got no problem hurting others.”

 

Beth handed the strange woman a glass of cool water and a cup of hot coffee, pushing the sugar bowl closer to the madam just in case, though the woman picked up the cup of black coffee and sipped the hot beverage straight after downing the glass of water and silently holding out the glass for a refill, which Beth provided.  The others who’d come in got something to drink as well and sat around the table to hear more of the woman’s tale.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michonne tells her story and Beth goes with some of the others to try to rescue Daryl, Abe and William.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone still out there? I hope so. I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted and I know it's shorter than the average chapter, but I liked the stopping point and hope anyone still reading enjoys it. Thank you for reading!

Michonne’s story was much what Beth and the others had feared.  The men had arrived in town safely, but when they’d gone into the store to see Dale and Irma a group of the Governor’s men were already waiting inside and had taken the men from the Rocking H prisoner with shocking swiftness.  Daryl and Abe had fought back when they were approached too closely and had been beaten until they were unconscious while William had simply held up his hands and gone quietly.  The Governor’s men had taken their prisoners to The Capitol Bar and Michonne had seen them taken down the stairs to one of the private rooms that had only small, high windows and hadn’t waited for more information before she’d left to make it to the Rocking H.

 

“Why did you come?” Beth asked cautiously.  “We don’t know one another; why would you risk so much for me?”

 

Michonne took a sip of coffee and replied, “The Horvaths have always been polite to me and served me like I was any other customer, though there are businesses where I am not welcome because of what I do.  You’ve been here long enough to know not everyone in this town is kind to outsiders.  I don’t know your husband well, but he’s always been polite to me and treated the Horvaths like family.  I’d hate to see a good man like that die at the hands of someone like The Governor or for you to fall into his hands.”

 

Beth already understood most of the reasons that someone like The Governor would be interested in a young, pretty woman, especially in an area where men still outnumbered women significantly.  She also figured that Philip Blake’s obvious dislike of Daryl combined with his inflated sense of self-worth only contributed toward his avariciousness toward her.  “How do we get them out?  You used to own that building, right?  You have to know how we can get it and out.”

 

“I was here when this town was still a circle of wagons and tents. I can tell you where everything is,” the dark-skinned woman agreed, with a sharp nod.  “Do you have paper and a pencil?” When they were brought to her, she drew some boxes to represent the buildings and started to detail the building where the men were being held.

 

With everyone’s help, they were able to come up with a plan.  People would obviously have to stay at the ranch to stop anyone from trying to take over their home, but Beth wouldn’t hear of staying back herself. 

 

More than anything, Beth wished passionately that Maggie and Glenn were there to go with her, but that simply wasn’t possible.  In the end, the group consisted of Beth, Michonne, Carol and Tyreese while Oscar would stay to lead the rest in defense of the ranch.  They were still running through plans when Eugene came back into the house carrying a large box, which he placed cautiously on the kitchen table where the others present peered into the box at the neatly stacked brownish tubes.

 

“Dynamite,” the odd man said with a slightly guilty, sideways look.  “It’s only a year or so old and should be fine.  There’s no discoloration and you should be pretty safe carrying it.  Throw it quickly after you light it.  You have to throw it hard…don’t be too close and try not to be on horseback if you can help it.”  He cleared his throat and pulled some long, thin cigarillos from his breast pocket that Beth recognized as the kind that Abe liked to smoke when he had some time.  “Have any of you smoked?”  Everyone but Beth and Sasha nodded and Eugene continued, “It’s hard to light them up quickly using one match after another.  Use these and you can light the sticks faster when you’re on the move and you won’t have the match flare each time.”  He handed out the cigarillos to the others, except Beth, then added, “Just be careful and shelter the ends when you inhale if you can, or it can tell another shooter just where your head is.”

 

“We’ll leave some here, but if we each take seven or so sticks of dynamite we can use it to distract the Governor and his men and confuse where we are, in case they spot us,” Carol suggested.

 

Once everything was finally ready, Beth and the others in the rescue party headed for town by a route that would take them across the country instead of by road.  They hoped to have some time to survey the town before they moved in to try to rescue Daryl, Abe and William.  Beth had honestly been a little surprised that Ella hadn’t insisted on coming with them to try to get her husband, but instead the woman had barely said a word, just watched the others with a rather blank expression that Beth hadn’t been able to define.  She hadn’t been able to draw Ella out into a conversation and hadn’t really had much time to try since the other couple had shown up at the ranch.  The people from the ranch who had stayed behind were well-armed and the dynamite that had remained at the ranch had been distributed among the people of the Rocking H.  Before leaving, Beth had suggested that Carol give Ella something to make her sleep in the hope that if the woman were unstable for some reason it wouldn’t affect the safety of the ones who had to stay behind.

 

Beth hadn’t realized how much she’d hoped that Daryl would have found some way to escape and miraculously meet them on their way to the town, even though he couldn’t have guessed their route, until the buildings came into sight.  It was almost dark as they all dismounted and crawled to positions to lay low in the hills near town and try to get some idea of where everyone was at that time.  Carol was wearing the outfit she’d worn to work with the cows and Sasha had dug a pair of slim, dark gray dungarees from among her clothing that fitted Michonne and Beth had finally worn the dark blue pair on which she and Carol had been quietly working when Daryl was busy with other things.  It was so much easier to move than it normally was in her heavy skirts and Beth hoped that all of them would be fast enough to get the men to safety.  The party was really relying on speed and wits more than anything.  Even with his size and strength, Tyreese was surprisingly light on his feet and had already proven that he had a cunning mind.

 

o))O((o

 

Michonne stared through the spyglass Tyreese had brought for a while before saying, “The Horvaths are in their living quarters above their store, but there are a couple men downstairs.”  She watched a few more minutes, “Nobody really on the streets though – Governor implemented a curfew a couple days ago, so if you do see anyone out, it’s one of his thugs trying to catch whoever they can.”

 

“Men all around the Capitol, though,” Carol observed.  “How are we going to get in either place?”

 

“We could use some of the dynamite to create a distraction and hit both places at once,” the madam replied.  At the skeptical looks from Carol and Tyreese, she continued, “We need to get everyone out at once if we can – a diversion is probably only going to work once.”

 

“If Tyreese goes to get the Horvaths and we go get the others, do you think it will work?”  Beth spoke up, her wary eyes observing the town.  She looked at Tyreese, “Do you think you could handle the men downstairs on your own and get them out?”  When he answered in the affirmative she looked back at Michonne, “Do you think the three of us can get them out?”

 

After a moment the other woman nodded, “If we’re fast and careful and they’re in good shape to walk, we can get them back.”

 

“It’s a lot of ‘if’s,’” Carol observed quietly, “but I think it’s our only chance.”

 

They waited a little over an hour, talking softly, finalizing plans in the softest voices possible – until everything seemed calm and quiet.  Tyreese left them and headed toward the mercantile while Beth and Carol headed as silently as possible to wait outside The Capitol, near the entrance to the basement, where Michonne had thought the men were most likely being held.  They stayed in the shadows, barely breathing, trying to stay both calm and alert, while Michonne slipped away like a shadow herself and minutes passed.

 

Beth could hardly stand it, not knowing where Daryl was or even if he was still alive.  Michonne seemed positive that The Governor would keep them alive, but Beth didn’t feel sure of anything just then, except that she’d do anything possible to get her husband back.  She held her gun carefully, firmly, finger resting on the guard, not the trigger, waiting, watching the darkness around her shifting with the changing light from the moon in the cloudy sky.

 

When the explosion went off, it was so shocking Beth almost froze, but she forced herself to move, running beside Carol to the door, surprised it was unlocked, rushing down the stairs with the older woman.  A man loomed in front of them so suddenly that Carol hit him in the middle of the forehead with the butt of her gun while Beth kicked out and managed to catch him in the crotch.  He tumbled down the stairs backwards, striking his head hard on the steps with a loud crack.  The women kept going, slipping past him even as Beth could see the angle his head wasn’t at a natural angle anymore, reaching the bottom of the stairs and hurrying around the wall that divided the room in half and would lead them to windowless room at the back.  That door was locked, but after Beth twisted the handle hard and jiggled it, it was suddenly yanked opened from the inside by a tall, dark man Beth recognized as Shumpert and she caught a brief glimpse of Abraham and Daryl inside the room, bloodied and shirtless.  Before she could react, Carol’s gun was there.  Another explosion from outside shook the building as Carol shot the man through the throat and the women pushed through the doorway together.

 

“Beth?”  Daryl asked, voice scratchier than normal, face bruised and eyes swollen almost closed.  “Carol?  You’ve got to get out of here.”

 

“We’ve all got to get out of here.” Beth said, holstering her gun and pulling her knife to cut him loose as Carol was doing the same for Abraham, who was cussing up a storm

 

“Where’s William?” Beth asked as she helped pull Daryl to his feet.

 

“They shot the poor son of a bitch when they took us,” Abraham answered as he heaved himself up.  “Never had a chance.”

 

When the men were on their feet, Carol and Beth each handed over an extra pistol from the ones they’d brought.  Abraham stuck his in his waistband and grabbed the rifle that was still slung over Shumpert’s shoulder and yanked the dead man’s pistol from its holster, handing that gun to Daryl, who took it with his left hand.

 

They all ran for the stairs and were almost there when two more men came down, firing when they saw the group.  A bullet struck the wall near Beth and she felt a sting as fragments of wood exploded outward and the others returned fire on the men, who fell quickly.  With Abraham in the lead, they scrambled up the stairs toward the door and out into the night, which had fallen into chaos around them.  Michonne hadn’t just set off explosions – there were at least three buildings in the town on fire, smoke rolling in clouds around them as flames leapt toward the sky.  It was disorienting and their eyes stung from the smoke but Carol struck off at once, the others following along behind her without hesitation.  A hand reached out of the smoke and grabbed Beth’s arm and pulled her around as the man swung his gun butt at her face.  She twisted her head, but still felt a blow to her forehead and that made her vision spin even as a red hole opened between the man’s eyes.

 

“Beth, you okay?  Beth?” Daryl reached out and touched her arm lightly.  “Shit, Beth, we’ve gotta go.”  She nodded, her eyes on his even though they were watering from both pain and smoke.  He pushed her in front of him and she ran, hurrying after Carol and Abraham as she caught glimpses of them, checking behind her for Daryl, who stayed right there, but shot another man down who’d tried to shoot them first.

 

Horses were running, people were shouting, and Beth was thankful when they were out of the worst of it and running hard for their own horses.  Tyreese’s horse and one of the spares were gone and Beth worried that he hadn’t been able to get out with both the Horvaths, but they had to keep going.

 

“Where’s Michonne?” she gasped out as they mounted up, only to spy the woman in question running toward them at top speed, torn dungarees flapping around her legs as she raced toward them.  She had a sword in one hand that glinted in the light of the flames from the town and she somehow held onto it as she mounted.  They slapped heels to their horses and rode hard for the ranch, only easing up when they had to rest the animals.

 

They caught up to Tyreese and the Horvaths, Dale and Irma on the same horse and clinging to each other as much as the animal.  The rest of the ride was tense and cold, but they finally made it back to the ranch, glad to find it still standing.  Once the horses were up, everyone’s stories told and anyone who wanted to eat had been served and the beds made up, Beth finally found herself sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, letting Daryl bathe her face even as her fingers itched to do the same for him.

 

He looked so hurt; his face and chest were covered with bruises, eyes swollen, mouth lopsided from being struck and his wrists were covered with raw welts where he’d struggled against too-tight bonds.  Even as she cataloged his injuries, she could see the sadness and rage in his eyes from what had happened to her.  She winced involuntarily as he ran the cloth over the bruising that surrounded the cut on her forehead.

 

“Sorry,” he rumbled softly, dipping the cloth back in the basin of warm water that sat next to them on the table.  “They’re deeper than I thought.”  His fingers prodded gently as he examined her, “Probably going to scar, but we’ll keep them clean and maybe they won’t be too bad.”

 

“Do you mind?” Beth asked quietly.

 

“Mind what?  That you’ll have scars?” Daryl snorted.  “Girl, you got them saving my life.  I was never going to sign over the ranch and they were going to kill me to have it if I wouldn’t; use Abe and I as examples for the town.”

 

“Yeah, but they’re on my face.”

 

Daryl let the cloth drop back into pan of warm water and took her hands into his own as his swollen eyes scanned her face.  “Still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

 

Beth could feel her whole face relax and shift as she smiled back at her husband and leaned in to press a soft kiss to his bruised lips.  “Likewise.”

 

o))O((o

**Author's Note:**

> I forgot to add this at first, but I don't own anything about The Walking Dead or any songs, poems, etc that may be mentioned in this work; however, the story I've placed the characters in is an AU and my head canon.


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